Conjugate based systems for controlled drug delivery

ABSTRACT

Conjugates which comprise a drug and a ligand which includes a first saccharide; wherein the conjugate is characterized in that, when the conjugate is administered to a mammal, at least one pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic property of the conjugate is sensitive to serum concentration of a second saccharide. Exemplary conjugates and sustained release formulations are provided in addition to methods of use and preparation.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national phase application of InternationalApplication No. PCT/US2010/22268, filed Jan. 27, 2010, which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/147,878 filed Jan. 28,2009, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/159,643 filed Mar. 12, 2009,U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/162,107 filed Mar. 20, 2009, U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/163,084 filed Mar. 25, 2009, U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/219,897 filed Jun. 24, 2009, U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/223,572 filed Jul. 7, 2009, and U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/252,857 filed Oct. 19, 2009, the contentof each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In accordance with 37 CFR 1.52(e)(5), a Sequence Listing in the form ofa text file (entitled “Sequence listing_(—)0040.txt,” created on Jan.25, 2010, and 1 kilobyte) is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

The majority of “controlled-release” drug delivery systems known in theprior art (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,410 to Sears which describes drugrelease from capsules which are enzymatically labile) are incapable ofproviding drugs to a patient at intervals and concentrations which arein direct proportion to the amount of a molecular indicator (e.g., ametabolite) present in the human body. The drugs in these prior artsystems are thus not literally “controlled,” but simply provided in aslow release format which is independent of external or internalfactors.

The treatment of diabetes mellitus with injectable insulin is awell-known and studied example where uncontrolled, slow release ofinsulin is undesirable. In fact, it is apparent that the simplereplacement of the hormone is not sufficient to prevent the pathologicalsequelae associated with this disease. The development of these sequelaeis believed to reflect an inability to provide exogenous insulinproportional to varying blood glucose concentrations experienced by thepatient. To solve this problem several biological and bioengineeringapproaches to develop a more physiological insulin delivery system havebeen suggested (e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,387 to Brownlee et al.;U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,830,506, 5,902,603, and 6,410,053 to Taylor et al. andU.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004-0202719 to Zion et al.).

Each of these systems relies on the combination of a multivalent glucosebinding molecule (e.g., the lectin Con A) and a sugar based componentthat is reversibly bound by the multivalent glucose binding molecule.Unfortunately, Con A and many of the other readily available lectinshave the potential to stimulate lymphocyte proliferation. By binding tocarbohydrate receptors on the surfaces of certain types of lymphocytes,these so-called “mitogenic” lectins can potentially induce the mitosisof lymphocytes and thereby cause them to proliferate. Most mitogeniclectins including Con A are selective T-cell mitogens. A few lectins areless selective and stimulate both T-cells and B-cells. Local or systemicin vivo exposure to mitogenic lectins can result in inflammation,cytotoxicity, macrophage digestion, and allergic reactions includinganaphylaxis. In addition, plant lectins are known to be particularlyimmunogenic, giving rise to the production of high titers of anti-lectinspecific antibodies. It will be appreciated that mitogenic lectinscannot therefore be used in their native form for in vivo methods anddevices unless great care is taken to prevent their release. Forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,506, Taylor highlights the toxic risksthat are involved in using Con A and emphasizes the importance anddifficulty of containing Con A within a drug delivery device that alsorequires glucose and insulin molecules to diffuse freely in and out ofthe device.

The risks and difficulties that are involved with these and other invivo uses of lectins could be significantly diminished if an alternativecontrolled drug delivery system could be provided that did not requirelectins.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the disclosure provides methods for controlling thepharmacokinetic (PK) and/or pharmacodynamic (PD) profiles of a drug suchas insulin in a manner that is responsive to the systemic concentrationsof a saccharide such as glucose. As discussed in the Examples, themethods are based in part on the discovery that when certaininsulin-conjugates were modified to include high affinity saccharideligands they could be made to exhibit PK/PD profiles that responded tosaccharide concentration changes even in the absence of an exogenousmultivalent saccharide-binding molecule such as Con A. This finding wasunexpected and provides an unprecedented opportunity to generate simplelectin-free saccharide-responsive drug systems. In another aspect, thedisclosure provides exemplary conjugates and methods for making these.In general, these conjugates include a drug and one or more separateligands that each includes a saccharide. In certain embodiments, theligands are capable of competing with a saccharide (e.g., glucose ormannose) for binding to an endogenous saccharide-binding molecule. Incertain embodiments, the ligands are capable of competing with glucoseor mannose for binding to Con A. As discussed in more detail below, incertain embodiments, the ligands and drug may be covalently ornon-covalently attached to a conjugate framework. In certainembodiments, the framework is non-polymeric. In certain embodiments, aconjugate may have a polydispersity index of one and a MW of less thanabout 20,000 Da. In certain embodiments, the conjugate is long acting(i.e., exhibits a PK profile that is more sustained than solublerecombinant human insulin or RHI).

As discussed in more detail below, it is to be understood that themethods, conjugates and formulations that are described herein are in noway limited to the delivery of insulin and that they can be used todeliver any drug. It is also to be understood that the methods may beused to deliver drugs in response to saccharides other than glucose. Inparticular, as discussed in the Examples, exemplary conjugates have beenshown to respond to exogenous saccharides such as alpha-methyl mannoseand L-fucose. In certain embodiments, this can be used to prepareconjugates that can be controlled by administration of one of theseexogenous saccharides (i.e., instead of or in addition to beingcontrolled by fluctuations in endogenous glucose).

DEFINITIONS

Definitions of specific functional groups, chemical terms, and generalterms used throughout the specification are described in more detailbelow. For purposes of this invention, the chemical elements areidentified in accordance with the Periodic Table of the Elements, CASversion, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 75^(th) Ed., inside cover,and specific functional groups are generally defined as describedtherein. Additionally, general principles of organic chemistry, as wellas specific functional moieties and reactivity, are described in OrganicChemistry, Thomas Sorrell, University Science Books, Sausalito, 1999;Smith and March March's Advanced Organic Chemistry, 5^(th) Edition, JohnWiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 2001; Larock, Comprehensive OrganicTransformations, VCH Publishers, Inc., New York, 1989; Carruthers, SomeModern Methods of Organic Synthesis, 3^(rd) Edition, CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge, 1987.

Acyl—As used herein, the term “acyl,” refers to a group having thegeneral formula —C(═O)R^(X1), C(═O)OR^(X1), —C(═O)—O—C(═O)R^(X1),—C(═O)SR^(X1), —C(═O)N(R^(X1))₂, —C(═S)R^(X1), —C(═S)N(R^(X1))₂, and—C(═S)S(R^(X1)), —C(═NR^(X1))R^(X1), —C(═NR^(X1))OR^(X1),—C(═NR^(X1))SR^(X1), and —C(═NR^(X1))N(R^(X1))₂, wherein R^(X1) ishydrogen; halogen; substituted or unsubstituted hydroxyl; substituted orunsubstituted thiol; substituted or unsubstituted amino; substituted orunsubstituted acyl; cyclic or acyclic, substituted or unsubstituted,branched or unbranched aliphatic; cyclic or acyclic, substituted orunsubstituted, branched or unbranched heteroaliphatic; cyclic oracyclic, substituted or unsubstituted, branched or unbranched alkyl;cyclic or acyclic, substituted or unsubstituted, branched or unbranchedalkenyl; substituted or unsubstituted alkynyl, substituted orunsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl,aliphaticoxy, heteroaliphaticoxy, alkyloxy, heteroalkyloxy, aryloxy,heteroaryloxy, aliphaticthioxy, heteroaliphaticthioxy, alkylthioxy,heteroalkylthioxy, arylthioxy, heteroarylthioxy, mono- ordi-aliphaticamino, mono- or di-heteroaliphaticamino, mono- ordi-alkylamino, mono- or di-heteroalkylamino, mono- or di-arylamino, ormono- or di-heteroarylamino; or two R^(X1) groups taken together form a5- to 6-membered heterocyclic ring. Exemplary acyl groups includealdehydes (—CHO), carboxylic acids (—CO₂H), ketones, acyl halides,esters, amides, imines, carbonates, carbamates, and ureas. Acylsubstituents include, but are not limited to, any of the substituentsdescribed herein, that result in the formation of a stable moiety (e.g.,aliphatic, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, heteroaliphatic, heterocyclic, aryl,heteroaryl, acyl, oxo, imino, thiooxo, cyano, isocyano, amino, azido,nitro, hydroxyl, thiol, halo, aliphaticamino, heteroaliphaticamino,alkylamino, heteroalkylamino, arylamino, heteroarylamino, alkylaryl,arylalkyl, aliphaticoxy, heteroaliphaticoxy, alkyloxy, heteroalkyloxy,aryloxy, heteroaryloxy, aliphaticthioxy, heteroaliphaticthioxy,alkylthioxy, heteroalkylthioxy, arylthioxy, heteroarylthioxy, acyloxy,and the like, each of which may or may not be further substituted).

Aliphatic—As used herein, the term “aliphatic” or “aliphatic group”denotes an optionally substituted hydrocarbon moiety that may bestraight-chain (i.e., unbranched), branched, or cyclic (“carbocyclic”)and may be completely saturated or may contain one or more units ofunsaturation, but which is not aromatic. Unless otherwise specified,aliphatic groups contain 1-12 carbon atoms. In some embodiments,aliphatic groups contain 1-6 carbon atoms. In some embodiments,aliphatic groups contain 1-4 carbon atoms, and in yet other embodimentsaliphatic groups contain 1-3 carbon atoms. Suitable aliphatic groupsinclude, but are not limited to, linear or branched, alkyl, alkenyl, andalkynyl groups, and hybrids thereof such as (cycloalkyl)alkyl,(cycloalkenyl)alkyl or (cycloalkyl)alkenyl.

Alkenyl—As used herein, the term “alkenyl” denotes an optionallysubstituted monovalent group derived from a straight- or branched-chainaliphatic moiety having at least one carbon-carbon double bond by theremoval of a single hydrogen atom. In certain embodiments, the alkenylgroup employed in the invention contains 2-6 carbon atoms. In certainembodiments, the alkenyl group employed in the invention contains 2-5carbon atoms. In some embodiments, the alkenyl group employed in theinvention contains 2-4 carbon atoms. In another embodiment, the alkenylgroup employed contains 2-3 carbon atoms. Alkenyl groups include, forexample, ethenyl, propenyl, butenyl, 1-methyl-2-buten-1-yl, and thelike.

Alkyl—As used herein, the term “alkyl” refers to optionally substitutedsaturated, straight- or branched-chain hydrocarbon radicals derived froman aliphatic moiety containing between 1-6 carbon atoms by removal of asingle hydrogen atom. In some embodiments, the alkyl group employed inthe invention contains 1-5 carbon atoms. In another embodiment, thealkyl group employed contains 1-4 carbon atoms. In still otherembodiments, the alkyl group contains 1-3 carbon atoms. In yet anotherembodiment, the alkyl group contains 1-2 carbons. Examples of alkylradicals include, but are not limited to, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl,isopropyl, n-butyl, iso-butyl, sec-butyl, sec-pentyl, iso-pentyl,tert-butyl, n-pentyl, neopentyl, n-hexyl, sec-hexyl, n-heptyl, n-octyl,n-decyl, n-undecyl, dodecyl, and the like.

Alkynyl—As used herein, the term “alkynyl” refers to an optionallysubstituted monovalent group derived from a straight- or branched-chainaliphatic moiety having at least one carbon-carbon triple bond by theremoval of a single hydrogen atom. In certain embodiments, the alkynylgroup employed in the invention contains 2-6 carbon atoms. In certainembodiments, the alkynyl group employed in the invention contains 2-5carbon atoms. In some embodiments, the alkynyl group employed in theinvention contains 2-4 carbon atoms. In another embodiment, the alkynylgroup employed contains 2-3 carbon atoms. Representative alkynyl groupsinclude, but are not limited to, ethynyl, 2-propynyl (propargyl),1-propynyl, and the like.

Aryl—As used herein, the term “aryl” used alone or as part of a largermoiety as in “aralkyl”, “aralkoxy”, or “aryloxyalkyl”, refers to anoptionally substituted monocyclic and bicyclic ring systems having atotal of five to 10 ring members, wherein at least one ring in thesystem is aromatic and wherein each ring in the system contains three toseven ring members. The term “aryl” may be used interchangeably with theterm “aryl ring”. In certain embodiments of the present invention,“aryl” refers to an aromatic ring system which includes, but not limitedto, phenyl, biphenyl, naphthyl, anthracyl and the like, which may bearone or more substituents.

Arylalkyl—As used herein, the term “arylalkyl” refers to an alkyl groupsubstituted with an aryl group (e.g., an aromatic or heteroaromaticgroup).

Bivalent hydrocarbon chain—As used herein, the term “bivalenthydrocarbon chain” (also referred to as a “bivalent alkylene group”) isa polymethylene group, i.e., —(CH₂)_(z)—, wherein z is a positiveinteger from 1 to 30, from 1 to 20, from 1 to 12, from 1 to 8, from 1 to6, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 3, from 1 to 2, from 2 to 30, from 2 to 20,from 2 to 10, from 2 to 8, from 2 to 6, from 2 to 4, or from 2 to 3. Asubstituted bivalent hydrocarbon chain is a polymethylene group in whichone or more methylene hydrogen atoms are replaced with a substituent.Suitable substituents include those described below for a substitutedaliphatic group.

Carbonyl—As used herein, the term “carbonyl” refers to a monovalent orbivalent moiety containing a carbon-oxygen double bond. Non-limitingexamples of carbonyl groups include aldehydes, ketones, carboxylicacids, ester, amide, enones, acyl halides, anhydrides, ureas,carbamates, carbonates, thioesters, lactones, lactams, hydroxamates,isocyanates, and chloroformates.

Cycloaliphatic—As used herein, the terms “cycloaliphatic”, “carbocycle”,or “carbocyclic”, used alone or as part of a larger moiety, refer to anoptionally substituted saturated or partially unsaturated cyclicaliphatic monocyclic or bicyclic ring systems, as described herein,having from 3 to 10 members. Cycloaliphatic groups include, withoutlimitation, cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclopentenyl,cyclohexyl, cyclohexenyl, cycloheptyl, cycloheptenyl, cyclooctyl,cyclooctenyl, and cyclooctadienyl. In some embodiments, the cycloalkylhas 3-6 carbons.

Halogen—As used herein, the terms “halo” and “halogen” refer to an atomselected from fluorine (fluoro, —F), chlorine (chloro, —Cl), bromine(bromo, —Br), and iodine (iodo, —I).

Heteroaliphatic—As used herein, the terms “heteroaliphatic” or“heteroaliphatic group”, denote an optionally substituted hydrocarbonmoiety having, in addition to carbon atoms, from one to fiveheteroatoms, that may be straight-chain (i.e., unbranched), branched, orcyclic (“heterocyclic”) and may be completely saturated or may containone or more units of unsaturation, but which is not aromatic. Unlessotherwise specified, heteroaliphatic groups contain 1-6 carbon atomswherein 1-3 carbon atoms are optionally and independently replaced withheteroatoms selected from oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur. In someembodiments, heteroaliphatic groups contain 1-4 carbon atoms, wherein1-2 carbon atoms are optionally and independently replaced withheteroatoms selected from oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur. In yet otherembodiments, heteroaliphatic groups contain 1-3 carbon atoms, wherein 1carbon atom is optionally and independently replaced with a heteroatomselected from oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur. Suitable heteroaliphaticgroups include, but are not limited to, linear or branched, heteroalkyl,heteroalkenyl, and heteroalkynyl groups.

Heteroaralkyl—As used herein, the term “heteroaralkyl” refers to analkyl group substituted by a heteroaryl, wherein the alkyl andheteroaryl portions independently are optionally substituted.

Heteroaryl—As used herein, the term “heteroaryl” used alone or as partof a larger moiety, e.g., “heteroaralkyl”, or “heteroaralkoxy”, refersto an optionally substituted group having 5 to 10 ring atoms, preferably5, 6, or 9 ring atoms; having 6, 10, or 14 it electrons shared in acyclic array; and having, in addition to carbon atoms, from one to fiveheteroatoms. Heteroaryl groups include, without limitation, thienyl,furanyl, pyrrolyl, imidazolyl, pyrazolyl, triazolyl, tetrazolyl,oxazolyl, isoxazolyl, oxadiazolyl, thiazolyl, isothiazolyl,thiadiazolyl, pyridyl, pyridazinyl, pyrimidinyl, pyrazinyl, indolizinyl,purinyl, naphthyridinyl, and pteridinyl. The terms “heteroaryl” and“heteroar-”, as used herein, also include groups in which aheteroaromatic ring is fused to one or more aryl, carbocyclic, orheterocyclic rings, where the radical or point of attachment is on theheteroaromatic ring. Non limiting examples include indolyl, isoindolyl,benzothienyl, benzofuranyl, dibenzofuranyl, indazolyl, benzimidazolyl,benzthiazolyl, quinolyl, isoquinolyl, cinnolinyl, phthalazinyl,quinazolinyl, quinoxalinyl, 4H-quinolizinyl, carbazolyl, acridinyl,phenazinyl, phenothiazinyl, phenoxazinyl, tetrahydroquinolinyl, andtetrahydroisoquinolinyl. A heteroaryl group may be mono- or bicyclic.The term “heteroaryl” may be used interchangeably with the terms“heteroaryl ring”, “heteroaryl group”, or “heteroaromatic”, any of whichterms include rings that are optionally substituted.

Heteroatom—As used herein, the term “heteroatom” refers to nitrogen,oxygen, or sulfur, and includes any oxidized form of nitrogen or sulfur,and any quaternized form of a basic nitrogen. The term “nitrogen” alsoincludes a substituted nitrogen.

Heterocyclic—As used herein, the terms “heterocycle”, “heterocyclyl”,“heterocyclic radical”, and “heterocyclic ring” are used interchangeablyand refer to a stable optionally substituted 5- to 7-membered monocyclicor 7- to 10-membered bicyclic heterocyclic moiety that is eithersaturated or partially unsaturated, and having, in addition to carbonatoms, one or more heteroatoms, as defined above. A heterocyclic ringcan be attached to its pendant group at any heteroatom or carbon atomthat results in a stable structure and any of the ring atoms can beoptionally substituted. Examples of such saturated or partiallyunsaturated heterocyclic radicals include, without limitation,tetrahydrofuranyl, tetrahydrothienyl, pyrrolidinyl, pyrrolidonyl,piperidinyl, pyrrolinyl, tetrahydroquinolinyl, tetrahydroisoquinolinyl,decahydroquinolinyl, oxazolidinyl, piperazinyl, dioxanyl, dioxolanyl,diazepinyl, oxazepinyl, thiazepinyl, morpholinyl, and quinuclidinyl. Theterms “heterocycle”, “heterocyclyl”, “heterocyclyl ring”, “heterocyclicgroup”, “heterocyclic moiety”, and “heterocyclic radical”, are usedinterchangeably herein, and also include groups in which a heterocyclylring is fused to one or more aryl, heteroaryl, or carbocyclic rings,such as indolinyl, 3H-indolyl, chromanyl, phenanthridinyl, ortetrahydroquinolinyl, where the radical or point of attachment is on theheterocyclyl ring. A heterocyclyl group may be mono- or bicyclic. Theterm “heterocyclylalkyl” refers to an alkyl group substituted by aheterocyclyl, wherein the alkyl and heterocyclyl portions independentlyare optionally substituted.

Unsaturated—As used herein, the term “unsaturated”, means that a moietyhas one or more double or triple bonds.

Partially unsaturated—As used herein, the term “partially unsaturated”refers to a ring moiety that includes at least one double or triplebond. The term “partially unsaturated” is intended to encompass ringshaving multiple sites of unsaturation, but is not intended to includearyl or heteroaryl moieties, as herein defined.

Optionally substituted—As described herein, compounds of the inventionmay contain “optionally substituted” moieties. In general, the term“substituted”, whether preceded by the term “optionally” or not, meansthat one or more hydrogens of the designated moiety are replaced with asuitable substituent. Unless otherwise indicated, an “optionallysubstituted” group may have a suitable substituent at each substitutableposition of the group, and when more than one position in any givenstructure may be substituted with more than one substituent selectedfrom a specified group, the substituent may be either the same ordifferent at every position. Combinations of substituents envisioned bythis invention are preferably those that result in the formation ofstable or chemically feasible compounds. The term “stable”, as usedherein, refers to compounds that are not substantially altered whensubjected to conditions to allow for their production, detection, and,in certain embodiments, their recovery, purification, and use for one ormore of the purposes disclosed herein.

Suitable monovalent substituents on a substitutable carbon atom of an“optionally substituted” group are independently halogen;—(CH₂)₀₋₄R^(o); —(CH₂)₀₋₄OR^(o); O—(CH₂)₀₋₄C(O)OR^(o);—(CH₂)₀₋₄—CH(OR^(o))₂; —(CH₂)₀₋₄SR^(o); —(CH₂)₀₋₄Ph, which may besubstituted with R^(o); —(CH₂)₀₋₄O(CH₂)₀₋₁Ph which may be substitutedwith R^(o); —CH═CHPh, which may be substituted with R^(o); —NO₂; —CN;—N₃; —(CH₂)₀₋₄N(R^(o))₂; —(CH₂)₀₋₄N(R^(o))C(O)R^(o); —N(R^(o))C(S)R^(o);—(CH₂)₀₋₄N(R^(o))C(O)NRO₂; —N(R^(o))C(S)NRO₂;—(CH₂)₀₋₄N(R^(o))C(O)OR^(o); —N(R^(o))N(R^(o))C(O)R^(o);—N(R^(o))N(R^(o))C(O)NRO₂; —N(R^(o))N(R^(o))C(O)OR^(o);—(CH₂)₀₋₄C(O)R^(o); —C(S)R^(o); —(CH₂)₀₋₄C(O)OR^(o);—(CH₂)₀₋₄C(O)SR^(o); —(CH₂)₀₋₄C(O)OSiR^(o) ₃; —(CH₂)₀₋₄OC(O)R^(o);—OC(O)(CH₂)₀₋₄SR—, SC(S)SR^(o); —(CH₂)₀₋₄SC(O)R^(o); —(CH₂)₀₋₄C(O)NRO₂;—C(S)NRO₂; —C(S)SR^(o); —SC(S)SR^(o), —(CH₂)₀₋₄OC(O)NRO₂;—C(O)N(OR^(o))R^(o); —C(O)C(O)R^(o); —C(O)CH₂C(O)R^(o);—C(NOR^(o))R^(o); —(CH₂)₀₋₄SSR^(o); —(CH₂)₀₋₄S(O)₂R^(o);—(CH₂)₀₋₄S(O)₂OR^(o); —(CH₂)₀₋₄OS(O)₂R^(o); —S(O)₂NRO₂;—(CH₂)₀₋₄S(O)R^(o); —N(R^(o))S(O)₂NRO₂; —N(R^(o))S(O)₂R^(o);—N(OR^(o))R^(o); —C(NH)NRO₂; —P(O)₂R^(o); —P(O)R^(o) ₂; —OP(O)R^(o) ₂;—OP(O)(OR^(o))₂; SiR^(o) ₃; —(C₁₋₄ straight orbranched)alkylene)O—N(R^(o) ₂; or —(C₁₋₄ straight orbranched)alkylene)C(O)O—N(R^(o) ₂, wherein each R^(o) may be substitutedas defined below and is independently hydrogen, C₁₋₆ aliphatic, —CH₂Ph,—O(CH₂)₀₋₁Ph, or a 5-6-membered saturated, partially unsaturated, oraryl ring having 0-4 heteroatoms independently selected from nitrogen,oxygen, or sulfur, or, notwithstanding the definition above, twoindependent occurrences of R^(o), taken together with their interveningatom(s), form a 3-12-membered saturated, partially unsaturated, or arylmono- or bicyclic ring having 0-4 heteroatoms independently selectedfrom nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur, which may be substituted as definedbelow.

Suitable monovalent substituents on R^(o) (or the ring formed by takingtwo independent occurrences of R^(o) together with their interveningatoms), are independently halogen, —(CH₂)₀₋₂R^(●), -(haloR^(●)),—(CH₂)₀₋₂OH, —(CH₂)₀₋₂OR^(●), —(CH₂)₀₋₂CH(OR^(●))₂; —O(haloR^(●)), —CN,—N₃, —(CH₂)₀₋₂C(O)R^(●), —(CH₂)₀₋₂C(O)OH, —(CH₂)₀₋₂C(O)OR^(●),—(CH₂)₀₋₂SR^(●), —(CH₂)₀₋₂SH, —(CH₂)₀₋₂NH₂, —(CH₂)₀₋₂NHR^(●),—(CH₂)₀₋₂NR^(●) ₂, —NO₂, —SiR^(●) ₃, —OSiR^(●) ₃, —C(O)SR^(●), —(C₁₋₄straight or branched alkylene)C(O)OR^(●), or —SSR^(●) wherein each R^(●)is unsubstituted or where preceded by “halo” is substituted only withone or more halogens, and is independently selected from C₁₋₄ aliphatic,—CH₂Ph, —O(CH₂)₀₋₁Ph, or a 5-6-membered saturated, partiallyunsaturated, or aryl ring having 0-4 heteroatoms independently selectedfrom nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur. Suitable divalent substituents on asaturated carbon atom of R^(o) include ═O and ═S.

Suitable divalent substituents on a saturated carbon atom of an“optionally substituted” group include the following: ═O, ═S, ═NNR₂,═NNHC(O)R*, ═NNHC(O)OR*, ═NNHS(O)₂R*, ═NR*, ═NOR*, —O(C(R^(*) ₂))₂₋₃O—,or —S(C(R*₂))₂₋₃S—, wherein each independent occurrence of R* isselected from hydrogen, C₁₋₆ aliphatic which may be substituted asdefined below, or an unsubstituted 5-6-membered saturated, partiallyunsaturated, or aryl ring having 0-4 heteroatoms independently selectedfrom nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur. Suitable divalent substituents thatare bound to vicinal substitutable carbons of an “optionallysubstituted” group include: —O(CR^(*) ₂)₂₋₃O—, wherein each independentoccurrence of R* is selected from hydrogen, C₁₋₆ aliphatic which may besubstituted as defined below, or an unsubstituted 5-6-memberedsaturated, partially unsaturated, or aryl ring having 0-4 heteroatomsindependently selected from nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur.

Suitable substituents on the aliphatic group of R* include halogen,—R^(●), -(haloR^(●)), —OH, —OR^(●), —O(haloR^(●)), —CN, —C(O)OH,—C(O)OR^(●), —NH₂, —NHR^(●), —NR^(●) ₂, or —NO₂, wherein each R^(●) isunsubstituted or where preceded by “halo” is substituted only with oneor more halogens, and is independently C₁₋₄ aliphatic, —CH₂Ph,—O(CH₂)₀₋₁Ph, or a 5-6-membered saturated, partially unsaturated, oraryl ring having 0-4 heteroatoms independently selected from nitrogen,oxygen, or sulfur.

Suitable substituents on a substitutable nitrogen of an “optionallysubstituted” group include —R^(†), —NR^(†) ₂, —C(O)R^(†), —C(O)OR^(†),—C(O)C(O)R^(†), —C(O)CH₂C(O)R^(†), —S(O)₂R^(†), —S(O)₂NR^(†) ₂,—C(S)NR^(†) ₂, —C(NH)NR^(†) ₂, or —N(R^(†))S(O)₂R^(†); wherein eachR^(†) is independently hydrogen, C₁₋₆ aliphatic which may be substitutedas defined below, unsubstituted —OPh, or an unsubstituted 5-6-memberedsaturated, partially unsaturated, or aryl ring having 0-4 heteroatomsindependently selected from nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur, or,notwithstanding the definition above, two independent occurrences ofR^(†), taken together with their intervening atom(s) form anunsubstituted 3-12-membered saturated, partially unsaturated, or arylmono- or bicyclic ring having 0-4 heteroatoms independently selectedfrom nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur.

Suitable substituents on the aliphatic group of R^(†) are independentlyhalogen, —R^(●), -(haloR^(●)), —OH, —OR′, —O(haloR^(●)), —CN, —C(O)OH,—C(O)OR^(●), —NH₂, —NHR^(●), —NR^(●) ₂, or —NO₂, wherein each R^(●) isunsubstituted or where preceded by “halo” is substituted only with oneor more halogens, and is independently C₁₋₄ aliphatic, —CH₂Ph,—O(CH₂)₀₋₁Ph, or a 5-6-membered saturated, partially unsaturated, oraryl ring having 0-4 heteroatoms independently selected from nitrogen,oxygen, or sulfur.

Suitable protecting group—As used herein, the term “suitable protectinggroup,” refers to amino protecting groups or hydroxyl protecting groupsdepending on its location within the compound and includes thosedescribed in detail in Protecting Groups in Organic Synthesis, T. W.Greene and P. G. M. Wuts, 3^(rd) edition, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.

Suitable amino-protecting groups include methyl carbamate, ethylcarbamante, 9-fluorenylmethyl carbamate (Fmoc),9-(2-sulfo)fluorenylmethyl carbamate, 9-(2,7-dibromo)fluoroenylmethylcarbamate,2,7-di-t-butyl-[9-(10,10-dioxo-10,10,10,10-tetrahydrothioxanthyl)]methylcarbamate (DBD-Tmoc), 4-methoxyphenacyl carbamate (Phenoc),2,2,2-trichloroethyl carbamate (Troc), 2-trimethylsilylethyl carbamate(Teoc), 2-phenylethyl carbamate (hZ), 1-(1-adamantyl)-1-methylethylcarbamate (Adpoc), 1,1-dimethyl-2-haloethyl carbamate,1,1-dimethyl-2,2-dibromoethyl carbamate (DB-t-BOC),1,1-dimethyl-2,2,2-trichloroethyl carbamate (TCBOC),1-methyl-1-(4-biphenylyl)ethyl carbamate (Bpoc),1-(3,5-di-t-butylphenyl)-1-methylethyl carbamate (t-Bumeoc), 2-(2′- and4′-pyridyl)ethyl carbamate (Pyoc), 2-(N,N-dicyclohexylcarboxamido)ethylcarbamate, t-butyl carbamate (BOC), 1-adamantyl carbamate (Adoc), vinylcarbamate (Voc), allyl carbamate (Alloc), 1-isopropylallyl carbamate(Ipaoc), cinnamyl carbamate (Coc), 4-nitrocinnamyl carbamate (Noc),8-quinolyl carbamate, N-hydroxypiperidinyl carbamate, alkyldithiocarbamate, benzyl carbamate (Cbz), p-methoxybenzyl carbamate (Moz),p-nitobenzyl carbamate, p-bromobenzyl carbamate, p-chlorobenzylcarbamate, 2,4-dichlorobenzyl carbamate, 4-methylsulfinylbenzylcarbamate (Msz), 9-anthrylmethyl carbamate, diphenylmethyl carbamate,2-methylthioethyl carbamate, 2-methylsulfonylethyl carbamate,2-(p-toluenesulfonyl)ethyl carbamate, [2-(1,3-dithianyl)]methylcarbamate (Dmoc), 4-methylthiophenyl carbamate (Mtpc),2,4-dimethylthiophenyl carbamate (Bmpc), 2-phosphonioethyl carbamate(Peoc), 2-triphenylphosphonioisopropyl carbamate (Ppoc),1,1-dimethyl-2-cyanoethyl carbamate, m-chloro-p-acyloxybenzyl carbamate,p-(dihydroxyboryl)benzyl carbamate, 5-benzisoxazolylmethyl carbamate,2-(trifluoromethyl)-6-chromonylmethyl carbamate (Tcroc), m-nitrophenylcarbamate, 3,5-dimethoxybenzyl carbamate, o-nitrobenzyl carbamate,3,4-dimethoxy-6-nitrobenzyl carbamate, phenyl(o-nitrophenyl)methylcarbamate, phenothiazinyl-(10)-carbonyl derivative,N′-p-toluenesulfonylaminocarbonyl derivative, N′-phenylaminothiocarbonylderivative, t-amyl carbamate, S-benzyl thiocarbamate, p-cyanobenzylcarbamate, cyclobutyl carbamate, cyclohexyl carbamate, cyclopentylcarbamate, cyclopropylmethyl carbamate, p-decyloxybenzyl carbamate,2,2-dimethoxycarbonylvinyl carbamate, o-(N,N-dimethylcarboxamido)benzylcarbamate, 1,1-dimethyl-3-(N,N-dimethylcarboxamido)propyl carbamate,1,1-dimethylpropynyl carbamate, di(2-pyridyl)methyl carbamate,2-furanylmethyl carbamate, 2-iodoethyl carbamate, isoborynl carbamate,isobutyl carbamate, isonicotinyl carbamate,p-(p′-methoxyphenylazo)benzyl carbamate, 1-methylcyclobutyl carbamate,1-methylcyclohexyl carbamate, 1-methyl-1-cyclopropylmethyl carbamate,1-methyl-1-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethyl carbamate,1-methyl-1-(p-phenylazophenyl)ethyl carbamate, 1-methyl-1-phenylethylcarbamate, 1-methyl-1-(4-pyridyl)ethyl carbamate, phenyl carbamate,p-(phenylazo)benzyl carbamate, 2,4,6-tri-t-butylphenyl carbamate,4-(trimethylammonium)benzyl carbamate, 2,4,6-trimethylbenzyl carbamate,formamide, acetamide, chloroacetamide, trichloroacetamide,trifluoroacetamide, phenylacetamide, 3-phenylpropanamide, picolinamide,3-pyridylcarboxamide, N-benzoylphenylalanyl derivative, benzamide,p-phenylbenzamide, o-nitophenylacetamide, o-nitrophenoxyacetamide,acetoacetamide, (N′-dithiobenzyloxycarbonylamino)acetamide,3-(p-hydroxyphenyl)propanamide, 3-(o-nitrophenyl)propanamide,2-methyl-2-(o-nitrophenoxy)propanamide,2-methyl-2-(o-phenylazophenoxy)propanamide, 4-chlorobutanamide,3-methyl-3-nitrobutanamide, o-nitrocinnamide, N-acetylmethioninederivative, o-nitrobenzamide, o-(benzoyloxymethyl)benzamide,4,5-diphenyl-3-oxazolin-2-one, N-phthalimide, N-dithiasuccinimide (Dts),N-2,3-diphenylmaleimide, N-2,5-dimethylpyrrole,N-1,1,4,4-tetramethyldisilylazacyclopentane adduct (STABASE),5-substituted 1,3-dimethyl-1,3,5-triazacyclohexan-2-one, 5-substituted1,3-dibenzyl-1,3,5-triazacyclohexan-2-one, 1-substituted3,5-dinitro-4-pyridone, N-methylamine, N-allylamine,N-[2-(trimethylsilyl)ethoxy]methylamine (SEM), N-3-acetoxypropylamine,N-(1-isopropyl-4-nitro-2-oxo-3-pyroolin-3-yl)amine, quaternary ammoniumsalts, N-benzylamine, N-di(4-methoxyphenyl)methylamine,N-5-dibenzosuberylamine, N-triphenylmethylamine (Tr),N-[(4-methoxyphenyl)diphenylmethyl]amine (MMTr),N-9-phenylfluorenylamine (PhF),N-2,7-dichloro-9-fluorenylmethyleneamine, N-ferrocenylmethylamino (Fcm),N-2-picolylamino N′-oxide, N-1,1-dimethylthiomethyleneamine,N-benzylideneamine, N-p-methoxybenzylideneamine,N-diphenylmethyleneamine, N-[(2-pyridyl)mesityl]methyleneamine,N—(N′,N′-dimethylaminomethylene)amine, N,N′-isopropylidenediamine,N-p-nitrobenzylideneamine, N-salicylideneamine,N-5-chlorosalicylideneamine,N-(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)phenylmethyleneamine,N-cyclohexylideneamine, N-(5,5-dimethyl-3-oxo-1-cyclohexenyl)amine,N-borane derivative, N-diphenylborinic acid derivative,N-[phenyl(pentacarbonylchromium- or tungsten)carbonyl]amine, N-copperchelate, N-zinc chelate, N-nitroamine, N-nitrosoamine, amine N-oxide,diphenylphosphinamide (Dpp), dimethylthiophosphinamide (Mpt),diphenylthiophosphinamide (Ppt), dialkyl phosphoramidates, dibenzylphosphoramidate, diphenyl phosphoramidate, benzenesulfenamide,o-nitrobenzenesulfenamide (Nps), 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfenamide,pentachlorobenzenesulfenamide, 2-nitro-4-methoxybenzenesulfenamide,triphenylmethylsulfenamide, 3-nitropyridinesulfenamide (Npys),p-toluenesulfonamide (Ts), benzenesulfonamide,2,3,6-trimethyl-4-methoxybenzenesulfonamide (Mtr),2,4,6-trimethoxybenzenesulfonamide (Mtb),2,6-dimethyl-4-methoxybenzenesulfonamide (Pme),2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-4-methoxybenzenesulfonamide (Mte),4-methoxybenzenesulfonamide (Mbs), 2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonamide(Mts), 2,6-dimethoxy-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (iMds),2,2,5,7,8-pentamethylchroman-6-sulfonamide (Pmc), methanesulfonamide(Ms), β-trimethylsilylethanesulfonamide (SES), 9-anthracenesulfonamide,4-(4′,8′-dimethoxynaphthylmethyl)benzenesulfonamide (DNMBS),benzylsulfonamide, trifluoromethylsulfonamide, and phenacylsulfonamide.

Suitable hydroxyl protecting groups include methyl, methoxylmethyl(MOM), methylthiomethyl (MTM), t-butylthiomethyl,(phenyldimethylsilyl)methoxymethyl (SMOM), benzyloxymethyl (BOM),p-methoxybenzyloxymethyl (PMBM), (4-methoxyphenoxy)methyl (p-AOM),guaiacolmethyl (GUM), t-butoxymethyl, 4-pentenyloxymethyl (POM),siloxymethyl, 2-methoxyethoxymethyl (MEM), 2,2,2-trichloroethoxymethyl,bis(2-chloroethoxy)methyl, 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethoxymethyl (SEMOR),tetrahydropyranyl (THP), 3-bromotetrahydropyranyl,tetrahydrothiopyranyl, 1-methoxycyclohexyl, 4-methoxytetrahydropyranyl(MTHP), 4-methoxytetrahydrothiopyranyl, 4-methoxytetrahydrothiopyranylS,S-dioxide, 1-[(2-chloro-4-methyl)phenyl]-4-methoxypiperidin-4-yl(CTMP), 1,4-dioxan-2-yl, tetrahydrofuranyl, tetrahydrothiofuranyl,2,3,3a,4,5,6,7,7a-octahydro-7,8,8-trimethyl-4,7-methanobenzofuran-2-yl,1-ethoxyethyl, 1-(2-chloroethoxy)ethyl, 1-methyl-1-methoxyethyl,1-methyl-1-benzyloxyethyl, 1-methyl-1-benzyloxy-2-fluoroethyl,2,2,2-trichloroethyl, 2-trimethylsilylethyl, 2-(phenylselenyl)ethyl,t-butyl, allyl, p-chlorophenyl, p-methoxyphenyl, 2,4-dinitrophenyl,benzyl, p-methoxybenzyl, 3,4-dimethoxybenzyl, o-nitrobenzyl,p-nitrobenzyl, p-halobenzyl, 2,6-dichlorobenzyl, p-cyanobenzyl,p-phenylbenzyl, 2-picolyl, 4-picolyl, 3-methyl-2-picolyl N-oxido,diphenylmethyl, p,p′-dinitrobenzhydryl, 5-dibenzosuberyl,triphenylmethyl, α-naphthyldiphenylmethyl,p-methoxyphenyldiphenylmethyl, di(p-methoxyphenyl)phenylmethyl,tri(p-methoxyphenyl)methyl, 4-(4′-bromophenacyloxyphenyl)diphenylmethyl,4,4′,4″-tris(4,5-dichlorophthalimidophenyl)methyl,4,4′,4″-tris(levulinoyloxyphenyl)methyl,4,4′,4″-tris(benzoyloxyphenyl)methyl,3-(imidazol-1-yl)bis(4′,4″-dimethoxyphenyl)methyl,1,1-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-1′-pyrenylmethyl, 9-anthryl,9-(9-phenyl)xanthenyl, 9-(9-phenyl-10-oxo)anthryl,1,3-benzodithiolan-2-yl, benzisothiazolyl S,S-dioxido, trimethylsilyl(TMS), triethylsilyl (TES), triisopropylsilyl (TIPS),dimethylisopropylsilyl (IPDMS), diethylisopropylsilyl (DEIPS),dimethylthexylsilyl, t-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS), t-butyldiphenylsilyl(TBDPS), tribenzylsilyl, tri-p-xylylsilyl, triphenylsilyl,diphenylmethylsilyl (DPMS), t-butylmethoxyphenylsilyl (TBMPS), formate,benzoylformate, acetate, chloroacetate, dichloroacetate,trichloroacetate, trifluoroacetate, methoxyacetate,triphenylmethoxyacetate, phenoxyacetate, p-chlorophenoxyacetate,3-phenylpropionate, 4-oxopentanoate (levulinate),4,4-(ethylenedithio)pentanoate (levulinoyldithioacetal), pivaloate,adamantoate, crotonate, 4-methoxycrotonate, benzoate, p-phenylbenzoate,2,4,6-trimethylbenzoate (mesitoate), alkyl methyl carbonate,9-fluorenylmethyl carbonate (Fmoc), alkyl ethyl carbonate, alkyl2,2,2-trichloroethyl carbonate (Troc), 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl carbonate(TMSEC), 2-(phenylsulfonyl)ethyl carbonate (Psec),2-(triphenylphosphonio) ethyl carbonate (Peoc), alkyl isobutylcarbonate, alkyl vinyl carbonate alkyl allyl carbonate, alkylp-nitrophenyl carbonate, alkyl benzyl carbonate, alkyl p-methoxybenzylcarbonate, alkyl 3,4-dimethoxybenzyl carbonate, alkyl o-nitrobenzylcarbonate, alkyl p-nitrobenzyl carbonate, alkyl S-benzyl thiocarbonate,4-ethoxy-1-napththyl carbonate, methyl dithiocarbonate, 2-iodobenzoate,4-azidobutyrate, 4-nitro-4-methylpentanoate, o-(dibromomethyl)benzoate,2-formylbenzenesulfonate, 2-(methylthiomethoxy)ethyl,4-(methylthiomethoxy)butyrate, 2-(methylthiomethoxymethyl)benzoate,2,6-dichloro-4-methylphenoxyacetate,2,6-dichloro-4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenoxyacetate,2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylpropyl)phenoxyacetate, chlorodiphenylacetate,isobutyrate, monosuccinoate, (E)-2-methyl-2-butenoate,o-(methoxycarbonyl)benzoate, α-naphthoate, nitrate, alkylN,N,N′,N′-tetramethylphosphorodiamidate, alkyl N-phenylcarbamate,borate, dimethylphosphinothioyl, alkyl 2,4-dinitrophenylsulfenate,sulfate, methanesulfonate (mesylate), benzylsulfonate, and tosylate(Ts). For protecting 1,2- or 1,3-diols, the protecting groups includemethylene acetal, ethylidene acetal, 1-t-butylethylidene ketal,1-phenylethylidene ketal, (4-methoxyphenyl)ethylidene acetal,2,2,2-trichloroethylidene acetal, acetonide, cyclopentylidene ketal,cyclohexylidene ketal, cycloheptylidene ketal, benzylidene acetal,p-methoxybenzylidene acetal, 2,4-dimethoxybenzylidene ketal,3,4-dimethoxybenzylidene acetal, 2-nitrobenzylidene acetal,methoxymethylene acetal, ethoxymethylene acetal, dimethoxymethyleneortho ester, 1-methoxyethylidene ortho ester, 1-ethoxyethylidine orthoester, 1,2-dimethoxyethylidene ortho ester, α-methoxybenzylidene orthoester, 1-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethylidene derivative,α-(N,N′-dimethylamino)benzylidene derivative, 2-oxacyclopentylideneortho ester, di-t-butylsilylene group (DTBS),1,3-(1,1,3,3-tetraisopropyldisiloxanylidene) derivative (TIPDS),tetra-t-butoxydisiloxane-1,3-diylidene derivative (TBDS), cycliccarbonates, cyclic boronates, ethyl boronate, and phenyl boronate.

In any case where a chemical variable (e.g., an R group) is shownattached to a bond that crosses a bond of ring, this means that one ormore such variables are optionally attached to the ring having thecrossed bond. Each R group on such a ring can be attached at anysuitable position, this is generally understood to mean that the groupis attached in place of a hydrogen atom on the parent ring. Thisincludes the possibility that two R groups can be attached to the samering atom. Furthermore, when more than one R group is present on a ring,each may be the same or different than other R groups attached thereto,and each group is defined independently of other groups that may beattached elsewhere on the same molecule, even though they may berepresented by the same identifier.

Biodegradable—As used herein, the term “biodegradable” refers tomolecules that degrade (i.e., lose at least some of their covalentstructure) under physiological or endosomal conditions. Biodegradablemolecules are not necessarily hydrolytically degradable and may requireenzymatic action to degrade.

Biomolecule—As used herein, the term “biomolecule” refers to molecules(e.g., polypeptides, amino acids, polynucleotides, nucleotides,polysaccharides, sugars, lipids, nucleoproteins, glycoproteins,lipoproteins, steroids, metabolites, etc.) whether naturally-occurringor artificially created (e.g., by synthetic or recombinant methods) thatare commonly found in cells and tissues. Specific classes ofbiomolecules include, but are not limited to, enzymes, receptors,neurotransmitters, hormones, cytokines, cell response modifiers such asgrowth factors and chemotactic factors, antibodies, vaccines, haptens,toxins, interferons, ribozymes, anti-sense agents, plasmids, DNA, andRNA.

Drug—As used herein, the term “drug” refers to small molecules orbiomolecules that alter, inhibit, activate, or otherwise affect abiological event. For example, drugs may include, but are not limitedto, anti-AIDS substances, anti-cancer substances, antibiotics,anti-diabetic substances, immunosuppressants, anti-viral substances,enzyme inhibitors, neurotoxins, opioids, hypnotics, anti-histamines,lubricants, tranquilizers, anti-convulsants, muscle relaxants andanti-Parkinson substances, anti-spasmodics and muscle contractantsincluding channel blockers, miotics and anti-cholinergics, anti-glaucomacompounds, anti-parasite and/or anti-protozoal compounds, modulators ofcell-extracellular matrix interactions including cell growth inhibitorsand anti-adhesion molecules, vasodilating agents, inhibitors of DNA, RNAor protein synthesis, anti-hypertensives, analgesics, anti-pyretics,steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, anti-angiogenicfactors, anti-secretory factors, anticoagulants and/or anti-thromboticagents, local anesthetics, ophthalmics, prostaglandins,anti-depressants, anti-psychotic substances, anti-emetics, and imagingagents. A more complete listing of exemplary drugs suitable for use inthe present invention may be found in “Pharmaceutical Substances:Syntheses, Patents, Applications” by Axel Kleemann and Jurgen Engel,Thieme Medical Publishing, 1999; the “Merck Index: An Encyclopedia ofChemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals”, edited by Susan Budavari et al., CRCPress, 1996, and the United States Pharmacopeia-25/NationalFormulary-20, published by the United States Pharmcopeial Convention,Inc., Rockville Md., 2001.

Exogenous—As used herein, an “exogenous” molecule is one which is notpresent at significant levels in a patient unless administered to thepatient. In certain embodiments the patient is a mammal, e.g., a human,a dog, a cat, a rat, a minipig, etc. As used herein, a molecule is notpresent at significant levels in a patient if normal serum for that typeof patient includes less than 0.1 mM of the molecule. In certainembodiments normal serum for the patient may include less than 0.08 mM,less than 0.06 mM, or less than 0.04 mM of the molecule.

Hyperbranched—As used herein, a “hyperbranched” structure is a covalentstructure that includes at least one branched branch (e.g., adendrimeric structure). A hyperbranched structure may include polymericand/or non-polymeric substructures.

Normal serum—As used herein, “normal serum” is serum obtained by poolingapproximately equal amounts of the liquid portion of coagulated wholeblood from five or more non-diabetic patients. A non-diabetic humanpatient is a randomly selected 18-30 year old who presents with nodiabetic symptoms at the time blood is drawn.

Polymer—As used herein, a “polymer” or “polymeric structure” is astructure that includes a string of covalently bound monomers. A polymercan be made from one type of monomer or more than one type of monomer.The term “polymer” therefore encompasses copolymers, includingblock-copolymers in which different types of monomer are groupedseparately within the overall polymer. A polymer can be linear orbranched.

Polynucleotide—As used herein, a “polynucleotide” is a polymer ofnucleotides. The terms “polynucleotide”, “nucleic acid”, and“oligonucleotide” may be used interchangeably. The polymer may includenatural nucleosides (i.e., adenosine, thymidine, guanosine, cytidine,uridine, deoxyadenosine, deoxythymidine, deoxyguanosine, anddeoxycytidine), nucleoside analogs (e.g., 2-aminoadenosine,2-thiothymidine, inosine, pyrrolo-pyrimidine, 3-methyl adenosine,5-methylcytidine, C5-bromouridine, C5-fluorouridine, C5-iodouridine,C5-propynyl-uridine, C5-propynyl-cytidine, C5-methylcytidine,7-deazaadenosine, 7-deazaguanosine, 8-oxoadenosine, 8-oxoguanosine,O(6)-methylguanine, 4-acetylcytidine, 5-(carboxyhydroxymethyl)uridine,dihydrouridine, methylpseudouridine, 1-methyl adenosine, 1-methylguanosine, N6-methyl adenosine, and 2-thiocytidine), chemically modifiedbases, biologically modified bases (e.g., methylated bases),intercalated bases, modified sugars (e.g., 2′-fluororibose, ribose,2′-deoxyribose, 2′-O-methylcytidine, arabinose, and hexose), or modifiedphosphate groups (e.g., phosphorothioates and 5′-N-phosphoramiditelinkages).

Polypeptide—As used herein, a “polypeptide” is a polymer of amino acids.The terms “polypeptide”, “protein”, “oligopeptide”, and “peptide” may beused interchangeably. Polypeptides may contain natural amino acids,non-natural amino acids (i.e., compounds that do not occur in nature butthat can be incorporated into a polypeptide chain) and/or amino acidanalogs as are known in the art. Also, one or more of the amino acidresidues in a polypeptide may be modified, for example, by the additionof a chemical entity such as a carbohydrate group, a phosphate group, afarnesyl group, an isofarnesyl group, a fatty acid group, a linker forconjugation, functionalization, or other modification, etc. Thesemodifications may include cyclization of the peptide, the incorporationof D-amino acids, etc.

Polysaccharide—As used herein, a “polysaccharide” is a polymer ofsaccharides. The terms “polysaccharide”, “carbohydrate”, and“oligosaccharide”, may be used interchangeably. The polymer may includenatural saccharides (e.g., arabinose, lyxose, ribose, xylose, ribulose,xylulose, allose, altrose, galactose, glucose, gulose, idose, mannose,talose, fructose, psicose, sorbose, tagatose, mannoheptulose,sedoheptulose, octolose, and sialose) and/or modified saccharides (e.g.,2′-fluororibose, 2′-deoxyribose, and hexose). Exemplary disaccharidesinclude sucrose, lactose, maltose, trehalose, gentiobiose, isomaltose,kojibiose, laminaribiose, mannobiose, melibiose, nigerose, rutinose, andxylobiose.

Small molecule—As used herein, the term “small molecule” refers tomolecules, whether naturally-occurring or artificially created (e.g.,via chemical synthesis), that have a relatively low molecular weight.Typically, small molecules are monomeric and have a molecular weight ofless than about 1500 Da. Preferred small molecules are biologicallyactive in that they produce a local or systemic effect in animals,preferably mammals, more preferably humans. In certain preferredembodiments, the small molecule is a drug. Preferably, though notnecessarily, the drug is one that has already been deemed safe andeffective for use by the appropriate governmental agency or body. Forexample, drugs for human use listed by the FDA under 21 C.F.R. §§330.5,331 through 361, and 440 through 460; drugs for veterinary use listed bythe FDA under 21 C.F.R. §§500 through 589, are all considered acceptablefor use in accordance with the present invention.

Treat—As used herein, the term “treat” (or “treating”, “treated”,“treatment”, etc.) refers to the administration of a conjugate of thepresent disclosure to a subject in need thereof with the purpose toalleviate, relieve, alter, ameliorate, improve or affect a condition(e.g., diabetes), a symptom or symptoms of a condition (e.g.,hyperglycemia), or the predisposition toward a condition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: Comparison between RP-HPLC chromatograms obtained for (a)exemplary conjugate synthesized using TSAT-C6 as the scaffold, AEM asthe ligand, and NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin as the drug (conjugate I-1)and (b) an insulin-glycogen conjugate synthesized according to Example32.

FIG. 2: Accelerated stability testing (AST) aggregation assay forconjugate I-1 (□), conjugate I-16 (Δ), and RHI (♦) in PBS buffer. Theconjugates demonstrate greatly enhanced stability over pharmaceuticalgrade RHI.

FIG. 3: Accelerated stability testing (AST) chemical stability results:(a) RP-HPLC AST conjugate stability and (b) LC/MS data on ASTconjugates.

FIG. 4: In vivo bioactivity in (n=4) non-diabetic, male Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats for fresh conjugate (▴) and 72 hr AST conjugate (◯). The 72 hrAST conjugate bioactivity was indistinguishable from that of the freshconjugate (p>0.21 for all timepoints).

FIG. 5: Blood glucose depression profile in non-diabetic, male SD rats(n=3) for subcutaneously injected (▴) insulin-dextran (70 K) at a doseof ˜20 U of insulin equivalents/kg.

FIG. 6: Blood glucose depression profile in non-diabetic, male SD rats(n=3) for subcutaneously injected (▪) insulin-glycogen (Type II oyster)at a dose of 2.5 U of insulin equivalents/kg.

FIG. 7: Blood glucose levels resulting from a 3.5 U equivalentinsulin/kg subcutaneous dose of (♦) TSAT-C6-AEM-2 insulin conjugate I-1and (□) soluble recombinant human insulin (RHI) in male non-diabetic SDrats. Each set of data represents the average and standard deviation forn=6 rats.

FIG. 8: Serum insulin concentrations resulting from a 3.5 U equivalentinsulin/kg subcutaneous dose of (♦) TSAT-C6-AEM-2 insulin conjugate I-1and (□) soluble recombinant human insulin (RHI) in male non-diabetic SDrats. Each set of data represents the average and standard deviation forn=6 rats.

FIG. 9: Plot of (♦) serum insulin and (◯) blood glucose levels followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats at time 0 withTSAT-C6-AEM-2 (B29-substituted) insulin conjugate I-7 (5 U/kg). Datarepresents the average and standard deviation for n=3 rats.

FIG. 10: Chemical structures of AEG, AEM, AEBM and AETM. The affinity ofthese saccharide based ligands for Con A increases as shown.

FIG. 11: Chemical structures of some exemplary non-dendrimeric conjugateintermediates. Exemplary conjugate ligands that include a saccharide arealso shown for illustrative purposes (AEG, AEM, AEBM, AETM, AEGA andAEF).

FIG. 12: Plot of serum insulin (left) and blood glucose (right) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats at time 0with TSAT-C6-AEM-2 insulin conjugate I-1 (♦), soluble recombinant humaninsulin, (◯) and insulin lispro (Δ) (all 3.5 U/kg). Data represents theaverage and standard deviation for n=6 rats.

FIG. 13: Plot of blood glucose levels following subcutaneous injectionin non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 for each formulation) at time 0 withTSAT-C6 based insulin conjugates with the different ligands as shown.The glucose lowering response decreases as the affinity of the ligandincreases.

FIG. 14: Plot of serum insulin (left) and blood glucose (right) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) attime 0 with TSAT-C6-AEM-2 conjugate I-1 (3.5 U/kg).

FIG. 15: Plot of serum insulin (left) and blood glucose (right) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) attime 0 with TSAT-C6-AEBM-2 I-3 conjugate (5 U/kg).

FIG. 16: Plot of serum insulin (left) and blood glucose (right) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) attime 0 with TSAT-C6-AEBM-1 AETM-1 conjugate I-4 (5 U/kg).

FIG. 17: Plot of serum insulin (left) and blood glucose (right) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) attime 0 with TSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugate I-2 (5 U/kg).

FIG. 18: Plot of serum insulin and blood glucose levels followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) at time 0with TSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugate I-2 followed by IP injection ofalpha-methyl mannose (left) or saline (right) after 15 minutes.Alpha-methyl mannose is a very high affinity saccharide which is capableof competing with AETM for binding to lectins such as Con A. As shown,the change in PK/PD profile that results from injection of alpha-methylmannose is very significant (p<0.05).

FIG. 19: Plot of serum insulin and blood glucose levels followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) at time 0with soluble recombinant human insulin (RHI) followed by IP injection ofalpha-methyl mannose (left) or saline (right) after 15 minutes. Asshown, no change in PK/PD profile results from injection of alpha-methylmannose (p>>0.05).

FIG. 20: Plot of serum insulin levels following subcutaneous injectionin non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 for each expt.) at time 0 withTSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugate I-2 followed by IP injection of alpha-methylmannose (♦), L-fucose (▪) or saline (▴) after 15 minutes. As shown,alpha-methyl mannose and L-fucose appear to exhibit the same kind ofeffect.

FIG. 21: Plot of serum insulin levels following subcutaneous injectionin non-diabetic, male SD rats at time 0 with TSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugateI-2 followed by IP injection of glucose (♦), galactose (▪) or saline (▴)after 15 minutes. As shown, galactose exhibits no effect as compared tosaline. Glucose appears to exhibit a small effect; however, this iscomplicated by the fact that the exogenous insulin from the conjugatequickly lowers the glucose, so the sustained effect observed withalpha-methyl mannose and L-fucose does not occur.

FIG. 22: Plot of serum insulin and blood glucose levels followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) at time 0with TSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugate I-2 solution at 5 U/kg dissolved in either(a) buffered saline containing 1M alpha-methyl mannose or (b) bufferedsaline. In (a) the rats were subsequently injected at 15 min. with thesame volume of saline solution used in (b) at a different subcutaneoussite than the one used for the conjugate solution. In (b) the rats weresubsequently injected at 15 min. with the same volume of 1M alpha-methylmannose solution used in (a) at a different subcutaneous site than theone used for the conjugate solution. As shown, the serum insulin levelsdo not increase and the blood glucose levels do not decrease inexperiment (a) relative to experiment (b).

FIG. 23: Plot of serum insulin and blood glucose levels followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) at time 0with TSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugate I-2 solution at 5 U/kg. At 15 min, 60 min,120 min, or 240 min after the conjugate injection, the rats were given a4 g/kg IP a-MM injection.

FIG. 24: Plot of serum insulin and blood glucose levels followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) at time 0with TSAT-C6-AEM-2 conjugate I-7 followed by IP injection ofalpha-methyl mannose (left) or saline (right) after 15 minutes.Alpha-methyl mannose is a very high affinity saccharide which is capableof competing with AEM for binding to lectins such as Con A. As shown,the change in PK/PD profile that results from injection of alpha-methylmannose is very significant (p<0.05).

FIG. 25: Plot of serum insulin and blood glucose levels followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) at time 0with TSAT-C6-GA-2 conjugate I-5 followed by IP injection of alpha-methylmannose (left) or saline (right) after 15 minutes. Alpha-methyl mannoseis a very high affinity saccharide which is capable of competing withAEM for binding to lectins such as Con A. As shown, the change in PK/PDprofile that results from injection of alpha-methyl mannose is notsignificant.

FIG. 26: Plot of serum insulin and blood glucose levels followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) at time 0with DSS-C6-AEM-1 conjugate I-8 followed by IP injection of alpha-methylmannose (left) or saline (right) after 15 minutes. Alpha-methyl mannoseis a very high affinity saccharide which is capable of competing withAEM for binding to lectins such as Con A. As shown, the change in PK/PDprofile that results from injection of alpha-methyl mannose is as notsignificant.

FIG. 27: Plot of serum insulin and blood glucose levels followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) at time 0with TSPE-AEM-3 conjugate I-9 followed by IP injection of alpha-methylmannose (left) or saline (right) after 15 minutes. Alpha-methyl mannoseis a very high affinity saccharide which is capable of competing withAEM for binding to lectins such as Con A. As shown, the change in PK/PDprofile that results from injection of alpha-methyl mannose issignificant (p<0.05).

FIG. 28: Plot of serum insulin and blood glucose levels followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) at time 0with DSS-AETM-1 conjugate I-10 followed by IP injection of alpha-methylmannose (left) or saline (right) after 15 minutes. Alpha-methyl mannoseis a very high affinity saccharide which is capable of competing withAEM for binding to lectins such as Con A. As shown, the change in PK/PDprofile that results from injection of alpha-methyl mannose issignificant (p<0.05).

FIG. 29: Plot of serum insulin and blood glucose levels followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) at time 0with TSPE-AETM-3 conjugate I-11 followed by IP injection of alpha-methylmannose (left) or saline (right) after 15 minutes. Alpha-methyl mannoseis a very high affinity saccharide which is capable of competing withAEM for binding to lectins such as Con A. As shown, the change in PK/PDprofile that results from injection of alpha-methyl mannose issignificant (p<0.05).

FIG. 30: Plot of serum insulin concentration as a function of time for0.4 mg/kg i.v. injections of (♦) RHI and (▴) TSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugateI-6 into non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 per group). Data (average ofn=3) is fit using a two-compartment bi-exponential model. TheTSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugate is eliminated from serum much faster than RHI.

FIG. 31: Plots of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with long-acting TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I-6) conjugatesfollowed by IP injection of glucose (4 g/kg) at 240 minutes.Formulations were prepared as described in Example 51: (a) 1×P-1×Z, (b)4×P-4×Z, and (c) 10×P-4×Z.

FIG. 32: Plots of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with long-acting TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I-6) conjugatesfollowed by IP injection of glucose (4 g/kg) at 240 minutes.Formulations were prepared as described in Example 52: (a) 4×P-1×Z and(b) 4×P-2×Z.

FIG. 33: Plots of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with long-acting TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I-6) conjugatesfollowed by IP injection of glucose (4 g/kg) at 240 minutes.Formulations were prepared as described in Example 52: (a) 10×P-1×Z and(b) 10×P-2×Z.

FIG. 34: Plots of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with long-acting TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I-6) conjugatesfollowed by IP injection of glucose (4 g/kg) at 240 minutes.Formulations were prepared as described in Example 53: (a) no cresol and(b) 4× cresol.

FIG. 35: Plots of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with long-acting TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I-6) conjugatesfollowed by IP injection of glucose (4 g/kg) at 240 minutes.Formulations were prepared as described in Example 54: (a) no salt, (b)3.3× salt, and (c) glycerol.

FIG. 36: Plots of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with long-acting TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I-6) conjugatesfollowed by IP injection of glucose (4 g/kg) at 240 minutes.Formulations were prepared containing increasing amounts of unmodifiedinsulin as described in Example 55: (a) 1/24, (b) 1/12, and (c) ⅙.

FIG. 37: Plot of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with a long-acting TSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugate I-6 preparedaccording to Example 56 followed by IP injection of glucose (4 g/kg) at240 minutes.

FIG. 38: Plot of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with a long-acting TSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugate I-6 preparedaccording to Example 57 followed by IP injection of glucose (4 g/kg) at240 minutes. The material was injected after storage at 2-8 C for (a)one week or (b) two weeks.

FIG. 39: Plot of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with a long-acting TSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugate I-6 preparedaccording to Example 57 followed by IP injection of glucose (4 g/kg) at240 minutes. The material was injected after storage at room temperaturefor (a) one week or (b) two weeks.

FIG. 40: Plot of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with long-acting conjugate formulations preparedaccording to Example 58 followed by IP injection of glucose (4 g/kg) at240 minutes. The conjugates are DSS-AEM-1 (I-8), DSS-AETM-1 (I-10),TSAT-C6-AEM-2 (I-7), C6-amide-AEM-2 (I-17), TSPE-AEM-3 (I-9), andTSPE-AETM-3 (I-11).

FIG. 41: Plot of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with long-acting conjugate formulations preparedaccording to Example 59 followed by IP injection of alpha-methyl mannose(4 g/kg) at 240 minutes. The conjugates are (a) TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I-6) and(b) TSAT-C6-GA-2.

FIG. 42: Plot of blood glucose levels following subcutaneous injectionin non-diabetic (normals) and diabetic (DM's) male SD rats at time 0with TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (B29-substituted, PZI) conjugate I-6. The conjugatewas administered at 5, 10 and 20 U/kg. As shown, the non-diabetic maleSD rats did not show any hypoglycemia while the glucose levels indiabetic male SD rats showed a clear dose proportional response thatlasted for over 8 hours at the highest dose.

FIG. 43: Plot of blood glucose levels over 24 hours followingsubcutaneous injection in non-diabetic (normals) and diabetic (DM's)male SD rats at time 0 with TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (B29-substituted, PZI)conjugate I-6. The conjugate was administered at 7, 14 and 28 U/kg.

FIG. 44: Plot of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing subcutaneous injection in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3 perdose) at time 0 with a long-acting conjugate I-17 formulation preparedaccording to Example 67 followed by IP injection of glucose (4 g/kg) at240 minutes.

FIG. 45: Structures of exemplary insulin-conjugates. As described in theExamples, these conjugates were each prepared with recombinant wild-typehuman insulin (see FIG. 63 for the structure of wild-type humaninsulin). The symbol “insulin” inside an oval as shown in FIG. 45 istherefore primarily intended to represent a wild-type human insulin. Asdiscussed herein, it is to be understood that the present disclosurealso encompasses inter alia versions of these and other conjugates thatinclude an insulin molecule other than wild-type human insulin.

FIG. 46: Plots of serum insulin concentration as a function of timefollowing injection of conjugate I-6 or RHI (left) and conjugate I-6with and without glucose or α-methyl mannose (right).

FIG. 47: The first two panels show plots of serum insulin (♦) and bloodglucose (◯) levels following constant intravenous (i.v.) infusion of RHI(3.5 mU/min) or I-6 (15 mU/min) in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3). IPinjection of glucose (4 g/kg) was given at 240 minutes. The next threepanels compare plots of serum insulin (♦) and blood glucose (◯) levelsfollowing constant intravenous (i.v.) infusion of RHI (3.5 mU/min) orI-6 (15 mU/min) in non-diabetic, male SD rats (n=3) when an IP injectionof glucose (4, 2, or 1 g/kg) was given at 240 minutes.

FIG. 48: Plots of serum insulin concentration as a function of timefollowing injection of conjugates with and without glucose or α-methylmannose. Rats were infused i.v. with sugar solution at t=−60 min andthroughout study. Each conjugate was injected at 10 U/kg i.v. at time 0,and serum conjugate concentrations were measured.

FIG. 49: Composition of insulin conjugates tested in non-diabeticminipig sugar-dependent elimination half-life studies. As described inthe Examples, these conjugates were each prepared with recombinantwild-type human insulin (see FIG. 63 for the structure of wild-typehuman insulin). The schematic in FIG. 49 is therefore primarily intendedto represent a wild-type human insulin. As discussed herein, it is to beunderstood that the present disclosure also encompasses inter aliaversions of these and other conjugates that include an insulin moleculeother than wild-type human insulin.

FIG. 50: β-phase elimination half-life results in non-diabetic minipigsduring glucose, α-methyl mannose or saline infusion.

FIG. 51: Plots of serum concentrations of (a) recombinant human insulin(RHI) and (b) Di-Sub-AETM-2 insulin conjugate II-2 following a 0.1 U/kgintravenous (i.v.) injection into non-diabetic male Yucatan minipigsequipped with dual vascular access ports (n=3 per study). In eachexperiment, the animals were infused with (♦) i.v. alpha methyl mannose(a-MM) solution (25% w/v infused at constant rate of 80 ml/h) or (

) no solution. Data are plotted as the average values fit with a curvederived from the two-compartment, bi-exponential model.

FIG. 52: Blood glucose depression curves in non-diabetic male Yucatanminipigs equipped with dual vascular access ports (n=3 per study)following i.v. injection of conjugates at 0.1 U/kg under conditions of(a) no i.v. sugar infusion or (b) i.v. alpha methyl mannose (a-MM)infusion (25% w/v infused at constant rate of 80 ml/h). (

) RHI, (

) I-7, (

)₁₋₆, (

) I-11, and (●) II-2.

FIG. 53: Blood glucose levels in (a, —, closed symbols) alloxan-diabeticYucatan minipigs (n=3 per dose) and (b, - - - - , open symbols)non-diabetic Yucatan minipigs (n=3 per dose) under fasting conditionsafter a sub-Q injection at time 0 with soluble Di-Sub-AETM-2 insulinconjugate II-2 at doses of 0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 U/kg. Data are plottedas the average values±one standard deviation. NOTE: FIG. 53( b) scale isenlarged for clarity.

FIG. 54: Blood glucose levels in (a, —, closed symbols) alloxan-diabeticYucatan minipigs (n=3 per dose) and (b, - - - - , open symbols)non-diabetic Yucatan minipigs (n=3 per dose) under fasting conditionsafter a sub-Q injection at time 0 with soluble recombinant human insulin(RHI) at doses of (▴,Δ) 0.063 and (

) 0.125 U/kg. Data are plotted as the average values±one standarddeviation. NOTE: FIG. 54( b) scale is enlarged for clarity.

FIG. 55: Additional insulin conjugates for use in non-diabetic minipigsugar-dependent elimination half-life studies. As described in theExamples, these conjugates were each prepared with recombinant wild-typehuman insulin (see FIG. 63 for the structure of wild-type humaninsulin). The schematic in FIG. 55 is therefore primarily intended torepresent a wild-type human insulin. As discussed herein, it is to beunderstood that the present disclosure also encompasses inter aliaversions of these and other conjugates that include an insulin moleculeother than wild-type human insulin.

FIG. 56: Plots of serum insulin concentration as a function of timefollowing administration of RHI or conjugate I-6 in rats and minipigs.

FIG. 57: Summary of i.v. half-life results in minipigs for additionalinsulin-conjugates.

FIG. 58: FIGS. 58A, 58B, and 58C: Plot of serum insulin levels after asingle subcutaneous injection of 0.25 (FIG. 58A), 0.5 (FIG. 58B) and 1U/kg (FIG. 58C) insulin conjugate II-2 in diabetic and normal minipigs.

FIG. 59: FIGS. 59A, 59B, and 59C: Plots of serum glucose levels afteri.v. injections of RHI and conjugates I-6 (FIG. 59A), II-3 (FIG. 59B)and II-2 (FIG. 59C) in minipigs with and without a-MM infusion.

FIG. 60: Structures of selected insulin conjugates (C3, C4, and C7)tested in minipigs as controls, along with insulin conjugates I-6, I-12,II-2, and II-3. As described in the Examples, these conjugates were eachprepared with recombinant wild-type human insulin (see FIG. 63 for thestructure of wild-type human insulin). The schematic in FIG. 60 istherefore primarily intended to represent a wild-type human insulin. Asdiscussed herein, it is to be understood that the present disclosurealso encompasses inter alia versions of these and other conjugates thatinclude an insulin molecule other than wild-type human insulin.

FIG. 61: FIGS. 61A and 61B: Plots of serum glucose levels after i.v.injections of RHI and insulin conjugates I-6 (FIG. 61A), I-12 (FIG.61A), II-2 (FIG. 61B) and C3 (FIG. 61B) in minipigs with and withouta-MM infusion.

FIG. 62: FIGS. 62A and 62B: Plots of serum glucose levels after i.v.injections of RHI and insulin conjugates C7 (FIG. 62A), C4 (FIG. 62A),II-3 (FIG. 62A) and II-2 (FIG. 62A) in minipigs with and without a-MMinfusion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

This application refers to a number of documents including patent andnon-patent documents. The entirety of each of these documents isincorporated herein by reference.

In one aspect, the disclosure provides methods for controlling thepharmacokinetic (PK) and/or pharmacodynamic (PD) profiles of a drug suchas insulin in a manner that is responsive to the systemic concentrationsof a saccharide such as glucose. As discussed in the Examples, themethods are based in part on the discovery that when certaininsulin-conjugates were modified to include high affinity saccharideligands they could be made to exhibit PK/PD profiles that responded tosaccharide concentration changes even in the absence of an exogenousmultivalent saccharide-binding molecule such as Con A. This finding wasunexpected and provides an unprecedented opportunity to generate simplelectin-free saccharide-responsive drug systems. In another aspect, thedisclosure provides exemplary conjugates and methods for making these.In general, these conjugates include a drug and one or more separateligands that each include a saccharide. In certain embodiments, theligands are capable of competing with a saccharide (e.g., glucose ormannose) for binding to an endogenous saccharide-binding molecule. Incertain embodiments, the ligands are capable of competing with glucoseor mannose for binding to Con A. As discussed in more detail below, incertain embodiments, the ligands and drug may be covalently ornon-covalently attached to a conjugate framework. In certainembodiments, the framework is non-polymeric. In certain embodiments, aconjugate may have a polydispersity index of one and a MW of less thanabout 20,000 Da. In certain embodiments, the conjugate is of formula (I)or (II) as defined and described herein. In certain embodiments, theconjugate is long acting (i.e., exhibits a PK profile that is moresustained than soluble recombinant human insulin or RHI).

As discussed in more detail below, it is to be understood that themethods, conjugates and formulations that are described herein are in noway limited to the delivery of insulin and that they can be used todeliver any drug. It is also to be understood that the methods may beused to deliver drugs in response to saccharides other than glucose. Inparticular, as discussed in the Examples, exemplary conjugates have beenshown to respond to exogenous saccharides such as alpha-methyl mannoseand L-fucose. In certain embodiments, this can be used to prepareconjugates that can be controlled by administration of one of theseexogenous saccharides (i.e., instead of or in addition to beingcontrolled by fluctuations in endogenous glucose).

Conjugates

In one aspect, the disclosure provides conjugates that comprise a drugand a ligand that includes a first saccharide. The ligand (or ligandswhen the conjugates include more than one ligand) are such that when theconjugate is administered to a mammal at least one pharmacokinetic orpharmacodynamic property of the conjugate is sensitive to the serumconcentration of a second saccharide. In certain embodiments, the PKand/or PD properties of the conjugate are sensitive to the serumconcentration of an endogenous saccharide such as glucose. In certainembodiments, the PK and/or PD properties of the conjugate are sensitiveto the serum concentration of an exogenous saccharide, e.g., withoutlimitation, mannose, L-fucose, N-acetyl glucosamine and/or alpha-methylmannose.

As discussed in more detail below, in certain embodiments, the ligand(s)and drug may be covalently or non-covalently attached to a conjugateframework.

In certain embodiments, the molecular weight of the conjugate absent thedrug is less than about 10,000 Da. For example, the molecular weight ofthe conjugate absent the drug may be in the range of about 250 to about5,000 Da, about 450 to about 3,500 Da, about 750 to about 2,500 Da, orabout 900 to about 2,000 Da.

In certain embodiments, the molecular weight of the conjugate includingthe drug is less than about 20,000 Da. For example, the molecular weightof the conjugate including the drug may be in the range of about 2,000to about 18,000 Da, about 4,000 to about 15,000 Da, about 5,000 to about10000 Da, or about 6,500 to about 8,000 Da.

In certain embodiments, the conjugate has a unique molecular weight(i.e., has a polydispersity index of one).

PK and PD Properties

In various embodiments, the pharmacokinetic and/or pharmacodynamicbehavior of a conjugate (i.e., conjugated drug and/or drug which hasbeen released from a conjugate by chemical or enzymatic degradation) maybe modified by variations in the serum concentration of a saccharide.

For example, from a pharmacokinetic (PK) perspective, the serumconcentration curve may shift upward when the serum concentration of thesaccharide (e.g., glucose) increases or when the serum concentration ofthe saccharide crosses a threshold (e.g., is higher than normal glucoselevels).

In certain embodiments, the serum concentration curve of a conjugate issubstantially different when administered to the mammal under fasted andhyperglycemic conditions. As used herein, the term “substantiallydifferent” means that the two curves are statistically different asdetermined by a student t-test (p<0.05). As used herein, the term“fasted conditions” means that the serum concentration curve wasobtained by combining data from five or more fasted non-diabeticindividuals. In certain embodiments, a fasted non-diabetic individual isa randomly selected 18-30 year old human who presents with no diabeticsymptoms at the time blood is drawn and who has not eaten within 12hours of the time blood is drawn. As used herein, the term“hyperglycemic conditions” means that the serum concentration curve wasobtained by combining data from five or more fasted non-diabeticindividuals in which hyperglycemic conditions (glucose C_(max) at least100 mg/dL above the mean glucose concentration observed under fastedconditions) were induced by concurrent administration of conjugate andglucose. Concurrent administration of conjugate and glucose simplyrequires that the glucose C_(max) occur during the period when theconjugate is present at a detectable level in the serum. For example, aglucose injection (or ingestion) could be timed to occur shortly before,at the same time or shortly after the conjugate is administered. Incertain embodiments, the conjugate and glucose are administered bydifferent routes or at different locations. For example, in certainembodiments, the conjugate is administered subcutaneously while glucoseis administered orally or intravenously.

In certain embodiments, the serum C_(max) of the conjugate is higherunder hyperglycemic conditions as compared to fasted conditions.Additionally or alternatively, in certain embodiments, the serum areaunder the curve (AUC) of the conjugate is higher under hyperglycemicconditions as compared to fasted conditions. In various embodiments, theserum elimination rate of the conjugate is slower under hyperglycemicconditions as compared to fasted conditions. As discussed in theExamples, we have found that in certain embodiments, the serumconcentration curve of the conjugates can be fit using a two-compartmentbi-exponential model with one short and one long half-life. The longhalf-life appears to be particularly sensitive to glucose concentration.Thus, in certain embodiments, the long half-life is longer underhyperglycemic conditions as compared to fasted conditions. In certainembodiments, the fasted conditions involve a glucose C_(max) of lessthan 100 mg/dL (e.g., 80 mg/dL, 70 mg/dL, 60 mg/dL, 50 mg/dL, etc.). Incertain embodiments, the hyperglycemic conditions involve a glucoseC_(max) in excess of 200 mg/dL (e.g., 300 mg/dL, 400 mg/dL, 500 mg/dL,600 mg/dL, etc.). It will be appreciated that other PK parameters suchas mean serum residence time (MRT), mean serum absorption time (MAT),etc. could be used instead of or in conjunction with any of theaforementioned parameters.

The normal range of glucose concentrations in humans, dogs, cats, andrats is 60 to 200 mg/dL. One skilled in the art will be able toextrapolate the following values for species with different normalranges (e.g., the normal range of glucose concentrations in miniaturepigs is 40 to 150 mg/dl). Glucose concentrations below 60 mg/dL areconsidered hypoglycemic. Glucose concentrations above 200 mg/dL areconsidered hyperglycemic. In certain embodiments, the PK properties ofthe conjugate may be tested using a glucose clamp method (see Examples)and the serum concentration curve of the conjugate may be substantiallydifferent when administered at glucose concentrations of 50 and 200mg/dL, 50 and 300 mg/dL, 50 and 400 mg/dL, 50 and 500 mg/dL, 50 and 600mg/dL, 100 and 200 mg/dL, 100 and 300 mg/dL, 100 and 400 mg/dL, 100 and500 mg/dL, 100 and 600 mg/dL, 200 and 300 mg/dL, 200 and 400 mg/dL, 200and 500 mg/dL, 200 and 600 mg/dL, etc. Additionally or alternatively,the serum T_(max), serum C_(max), mean serum residence time (MRT), meanserum absorption time (MAT) and/or serum half-life may be substantiallydifferent at the two glucose concentrations. As discussed below, incertain embodiments, 100 mg/dL and 300 mg/dL may be used as comparativeglucose concentrations. It is to be understood however that the presentdisclosure encompasses each of these embodiments with an alternativepair of comparative glucose concentrations including, withoutlimitation, any one of the following pairs: 50 and 200 mg/dL, 50 and 300mg/dL, 50 and 400 mg/dL, 50 and 500 mg/dL, 50 and 600 mg/dL, 100 and 200mg/dL, 100 and 400 mg/dL, 100 and 500 mg/dL, 100 and 600 mg/dL, 200 and300 mg/dL, 200 and 400 mg/dL, 200 and 500 mg/dL, 200 and 600 mg/dL, etc.

Thus, in certain embodiments, the C_(max) of the conjugate is higherwhen administered to the mammal at the higher of the two glucoseconcentrations (e.g., 300 vs. 100 mg/dL glucose). In certainembodiments, the C_(max) of the conjugate is at least 50% (e.g., atleast 100%, at least 200% or at least 400%) higher when administered tothe mammal at the higher of the two glucose concentrations (e.g., 300vs. 100 mg/dL glucose).

In certain embodiments, the AUC of the conjugate is higher whenadministered to the mammal at the higher of the two glucoseconcentrations (e.g., 300 vs. 100 mg/dL glucose). In certainembodiments, the AUC of the conjugate is at least 50% (e.g., at leaste.g., at least 100%, at least 200% or at least 400%) higher whenadministered to the mammal at the higher of the two glucoseconcentrations (e.g., 300 vs. 100 mg/dL glucose).

In certain embodiments, the serum elimination rate of the conjugate isslower when administered to the mammal at the higher of the two glucoseconcentrations (e.g., 300 vs. 100 mg/dL glucose). In certainembodiments, the serum elimination rate of the conjugate is at least 25%(e.g., at least 50%, at least 100%, at least 200%, or at least 400%)faster when administered to the mammal at the lower of the two glucoseconcentrations (e.g., 100 vs. 300 mg/dL glucose).

As discussed in the Examples, we have found that in certain embodimentsthe serum concentration curve of conjugates can be fit using atwo-compartment bi-exponential model with one short and one longhalf-life. The long half-life appears to be particularly sensitive toglucose concentration. Thus, in certain embodiments, the long half-lifeis longer when administered to the mammal at the higher of the twoglucose concentrations (e.g., 300 vs. 100 mg/dL glucose). In certainembodiments, the long half-life is at least 50% (e.g., at least 100%, atleast 200% or at least 400%) longer when administered to the mammal atthe higher of the two glucose concentrations (e.g., 300 vs. 100 mg/dLglucose).

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure provides a method inwhich the serum concentration curve of a conjugate is obtained at twodifferent glucose concentrations (e.g., 300 vs. 100 mg/dL glucose); thetwo curves are fit using a two-compartment bi-exponential model with oneshort and one long half-life; and the long half-lives obtained under thetwo glucose concentrations are compared. In certain embodiments, thismethod may be used as an assay for testing or comparing the glucosesensitivity of one or more conjugates.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure provides a method inwhich the serum concentration curves of a conjugated drug (e.g., aninsulin conjugate of the present disclosure) and an unconjugated versionof the drug (e.g., RHI) are obtained under the same conditions (e.g.,fasted conditions); the two curves are fit using a two-compartmentbi-exponential model with one short and one long half-life; and the longhalf-lives obtained for the conjugated and unconjugated drug arecompared. In certain embodiments, this method may be used as an assayfor identifying conjugates that are cleared more rapidly than theunconjugated drug.

In certain embodiments, the serum concentration curve of a conjugate issubstantially the same as the serum concentration curve of anunconjugated version of the drug when administered to the mammal underhyperglycemic conditions. As used herein, the term “substantially thesame” means that there is no statistical difference between the twocurves as determined by a student t-test (p>0.05). In certainembodiments, the serum concentration curve of the conjugate issubstantially different from the serum concentration curve of anunconjugated version of the drug when administered under fastedconditions. In certain embodiments, the serum concentration curve of theconjugate is substantially the same as the serum concentration curve ofan unconjugated version of the drug when administered underhyperglycemic conditions and substantially different when administeredunder fasted conditions. In certain embodiments, the hyperglycemicconditions involve a glucose C_(max) in excess of 200 mg/dL (e.g., 300mg/dL, 400 mg/dL, 500 mg/dL, 600 mg/dL, etc.). In certain embodiments,the fasted conditions involve a glucose C_(max) of less than 100 mg/dL(e.g., 80 mg/dL, 70 mg/dL, 60 mg/dL, 50 mg/dL, etc.). It will beappreciated that any of the aforementioned PK parameters such as serumT_(max), serum C_(max), AUC, mean serum residence time (MRT), mean serumabsorption time (MAT) and/or serum half-life could be compared.

From a pharmacodynamic (PD) perspective, the bioactivity of theconjugate may increase when the glucose concentration increases or whenthe glucose concentration crosses a threshold, e.g., is higher thannormal glucose levels. In certain embodiments, the bioactivity of aconjugate is lower when administered under fasted conditions as comparedto hyperglycemic conditions. In certain embodiments, the fastedconditions involve a glucose C_(max) of less than 100 mg/dL (e.g., 80mg/dL, 70 mg/dL, 60 mg/dL, 50 mg/dL, etc.). In certain embodiments, thehyperglycemic conditions involve a glucose C_(max) in excess of 200mg/dL (e.g., 300 mg/dL, 400 mg/dL, 500 mg/dL, 600 mg/dL, etc.).

In certain embodiments, the PD properties of the conjugate may be testedby measuring the glucose infusion rate (GIR) required to maintain asteady glucose concentration. According to such embodiments, thebioactivity of the conjugate may be substantially different whenadministered at glucose concentrations of 50 and 200 mg/dL, 50 and 300mg/dL, 50 and 400 mg/dL, 50 and 500 mg/dL, 50 and 600 mg/dL, 100 and 200mg/dL, 100 and 300 mg/dL, 100 and 400 mg/dL, 100 and 500 mg/dL, 100 and600 mg/dL, 200 and 300 mg/dL, 200 and 400 mg/dL, 200 and 500 mg/dL, 200and 600 mg/dL, etc. Thus, in certain embodiments, the bioactivity of theconjugate is higher when administered to the mammal at the higher of thetwo glucose concentrations (e.g., 300 vs. 100 mg/dL glucose). In certainembodiments, the bioactivity of the conjugate is at least 25% (e.g., atleast 50% or at least 100%) higher when administered to the mammal atthe higher of the two glucose concentrations (e.g., 300 vs. 100 mg/dLglucose).

In certain embodiments, the conjugate includes an insulin molecule asthe drug. According to such embodiments, the PD behavior for insulin canbe observed by comparing the time to reach minimum blood glucoseconcentration (T_(nadir)), the duration over which the blood glucoselevel remains below a certain percentage of the initial value (e.g., 70%of initial value or T_(70% BGL)), etc.

In general, it will be appreciated that any of the PK and PDcharacteristics discussed in this section can be determined according toany of a variety of published pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamicmethods (e.g., see Baudys et al., Bioconjugate Chem. 9:176-183, 1998 formethods suitable for subcutaneous delivery). It is alos to be understoodthat the PK and/or PD properties may be measured in any mammal (e.g., ahuman, a rat, a cat, a minipig, a dog, etc.). In certain embodiments, PKand/or PD properties are measured in a human. In certain embodiments, PKand/or PD properties are measured in a rat. In certain embodiments, PKand/or PD properties are measured in a minipig. In certain embodiments,PK and/or PD properties are measured in a dog.

It will also be appreciated that while the foregoing was described inthe context of glucose-responsive conjugates, the same properties andassays apply to conjugates that are responsive to other saccharidesincluding exogenous saccharides, e.g., mannose, L-fucose, N-acetylglucosamine, alpha-methyl mannose, etc. As discussed in more detailbelow and in the Examples, instead of comparing PK and/or PD propertiesunder fasted and hyperglycemic conditions, the PK and/or PD propertiesmay be compared under fasted conditions with and without administrationof the exogenous saccharide. It is to be understood that conjugates canbe designed that respond to different C_(max) values of a givenexogenous saccharide.

Ligand(s)

In general, the conjugates include at least one ligand. In certainembodiments, the conjugates include a single ligand. In certainembodiments, the conjugates include at least two separate ligands, e.g.,2, 3, 4, 5 or more ligands. When more than one ligand is present theligands may have the same or different chemical structures.

In certain embodiments, the ligands are capable of competing with asaccharide (e.g., glucose or mannose) for binding to an endogenoussaccharide-binding molecule (e.g., without limitation surfactantproteins A and D or members of the selectin family). In certainembodiments, the ligands are capable of competing with a saccharide(e.g., glucose or mannose) for binding to cell-surface sugar receptor(e.g., without limitation macrophage mannose receptor, glucosetransporter ligands, endothelial cell sugar receptors, or hepatocytesugar receptors). In certain embodiments, the ligands are capable ofcompeting with glucose for binding to an endogenous glucose-bindingmolecule (e.g., without limitation surfactant proteins A and D ormembers of the selectin family). In certain embodiments, the ligands arecapable of competing with a saccharide for binding to a non-human lectin(e.g., Con A). In certain embodiments, the ligands are capable ofcompeting with glucose or mannose for binding to a non-human lectin(e.g., Con A). Exemplary glucose-binding lectins include calnexin,calreticulin, N-acetylglucosamine receptor, selectin, asialoglycoproteinreceptor, collectin (mannose-binding lectin), mannose receptor,aggrecan, versican, pisum sativum agglutinin (PSA), vicia faba lectin,lens culinaris lectin, soybean lectin, peanut lectin, lathyrus ochruslectin, sainfoin lectin, sophora japonica lectin, bowringia milbraediilectin, concanavalin A (Con A), and pokeweed mitogen.

In certain embodiments, the ligand is of formula (IIIa) or (IIIb):

wherein:

-   each R¹ is independently hydrogen, —OR^(y), —N(R^(y))₂, —SR^(y),    —O—Y, -G-Z, or —CH₂R^(x);-   each R^(x) is independently hydrogen, —OR^(y), —N(R^(y))₂, —SR^(y),    or —O—Y;-   each R^(y) is independently —R², —SO₂R², —S(O)R², —P(O)(OR²)₂,    —C(O)R², —CO₂R², or —C(O)N(R²)₂;-   each Y is independently a monosaccharide, disaccharide, or    trisaccharide;-   each G is independently a covalent bond or an optionally substituted    C₁₋₉ alkylene, wherein one or more methylene units of G is    optionally replaced by —O—, —S—, —N(R²)—, —C(O)—, —OC(O)—, —C(O)O—,    —C(O)N(R²)—, —N(R²)C(O)—, —N(R²)C(O)N(R²)—, —SO₂—, —SO₂N(R²)—,    —N(R²)SO₂—, or —N(R²)SO₂N(R²)—;-   each Z is independently halogen, —N(R²)₂, —OR², —SR², —N₃, —C≡CR²,    —CO₂R², —C(O)R², or —OSO₂R²; and-   each R² is independently hydrogen or an optionally substituted group    selected from C₁₋₆ aliphatic, phenyl, a 4-7 membered heterocyclic    ring having 1-2 heteroatoms selected from nitrogen, oxygen, or    sulfur, or a 5-6 membered monocyclic heteroaryl ring having 1-4    heteroatoms selected from nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur.

In certain embodiments, the ligand of formula (Ma) or (Mb) is amonosaccharide. In certain embodiments, the ligand is a disaccharide. Incertain embodiments, the ligand is a trisaccharide. In certainembodiments, the ligand is a tetrasaccharide. In certain embodiments,the ligand comprises no more than a total of four monosaccharidemoieties.

As defined generally above, each R¹ is independently hydrogen, —OR^(y),—N(R^(y))₂, —SR^(y), —O—Y, -G-Z, or —CH₂Rx. In certain embodiments, R¹is hydrogen. In certain embodiments, R¹ is —OH. In other embodiments, R¹is —NHC(O)CH₃. In certain embodiments, R¹ is —O—Y. In certain otherembodiments, R¹ is -G-Z. In some embodiments, R¹ is —CH₂OH. In otherembodiments, R¹ is —CH₂—O—Y. In yet other embodiments, R¹ is —NH₂. Oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each R¹ substituent informula (IIIa) or (IIIb) may be of (R) or (S) stereochemistry.

As defined generally above, each R^(x) is independently hydrogen,—OR^(y), —N(R^(Y))₂, —SR^(y), or —O—Y. In some embodiments, R^(x) ishydrogen. In certain embodiments, R^(x) is —OH. In other embodiments,R^(x) is —O—Y.

As defined generally above, each R^(y) is independently —R², —SO₂R²,—S(O)R², —P(O)(OR²)₂, —C(O)R², —CO₂R², or —C(O)N(R²)₂. In someembodiments, R^(y) is hydrogen. In other embodiments, R^(y) is —R². Insome embodiments, R^(y) is —C(O)R². In certain embodiments, R^(y) isacetyl. In other embodiments, R^(y) is —SO₂R², —S(O)R², —P(O)(OR²)₂,—CO₂R², or —C(O)N(R²)₂.

As defined generally above, Y is a monosaccharide, disaccharide, ortrisaccharide. In certain embodiments, Y is a monosaccharide. In someembodiments, Y is a disaccharide. In other embodiments, Y is atrisaccharide. In some embodiments, Y is mannose, glucose, fructose,galactose, rhamnose, or xylopyranose. In some embodiments, Y is sucrose,maltose, turanose, trehalose, cellobiose, or lactose. In certainembodiments, Y is mannose. In certain embodiments, Y is D-mannose. Oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the saccharide Y isattached to the oxygen group of —O—Y through anomeric carbon to form aglycosidic bond. The glycosidic bond may be of an alpha or betaconfiguration.

As defined generally above, each G is independently a covalent bond oran optionally substituted C₁₋₉ alkylene, wherein one or more methyleneunits of G is optionally replaced by —O—, —S—, —N(R²)—, —C(O)—, —OC(O)—,—C(O)O—, —C(O)N(R²)—, —N(R²)C(O)—, —N(R²)C(O)N(R²)—, —SO₂—, —SO₂N(R²)—,—N(R²)SO₂—, or —N(R²)SO₂N(R²)—. In some embodiments, G is a covalentbond. In certain embodiments, G is —O—C₁₋₈ alkylene. In certainembodiments, G is —OCH₂CH₂—.

As defined generally above, each Z is independently halogen, —N(R²)₂,—OR², —SR², —N₃, —C≡CR², —CO₂R², —C(O)R², or —OSO₂R². In someembodiments, Z is a halogen or —OSO₂R². In other embodiments, Z is —N₃or —C≡CR². In certain embodiments, Z is —N(R²)₂, —OR², or —SR². Incertain embodiments, Z is —SH. In certain embodiments, Z is —NH₂. Incertain embodiments, -G-Z is —OCH₂CH₂NH₂.

In some embodiments, the R¹ substituent on the C1 carbon of formula(IIIa) is -G-Z to give a compound of formula (IIIa-i):

wherein R′, G, and Z are as defined and described herein.

In some embodiments, the ligand is of formula (IIIa-ii):

wherein R¹, R^(x), G, and Z are as defined and described herein.

In certain embodiments, the ligand(s) may have the same chemicalstructure as glucose or may be a chemically related species of glucose.In various embodiments it may be advantageous for the ligand(s) to havea different chemical structure from glucose, e.g., in order to fine tunethe glucose response of the conjugate. For example, in certainembodiments, one might use a ligand that includes glucose, mannose,L-fucose or derivatives of these (e.g., alpha-L-fucopyranoside,mannosamine, beta-linked N-acetyl mannosamine, methylglucose,methylmannose, ethylglucose, ethylmannose, propylglucose, propylmannose,etc.) and/or higher order combinations of these (e.g., a bimannose,linear and/or branched trimannose, etc.).

In certain embodiments, the ligand includes a monosaccharide. In certainembodiments, the ligand includes a disaccharide. In certain embodiments,the ligand is includes a trisaccharide. In some embodiments, the ligandcomprises a saccharide and one or more amine groups. In certainembodiments the saccharide and amine group are separated by a C₁-C₆alkyl group, e.g., a C₁-C₃ alkyl group. In some embodiments, the ligandis aminoethylglucose (AEG). In some embodiments, the ligand isaminoethylmannose (AEM). In some embodiments, the ligand isaminoethylbimannose (AEBM). In some embodiments, the ligand isaminoethyltrimannose (AETM). In some embodiments, the ligand isβ-aminoethyl-N-acetylglucosamine (AEGA). In some embodiments, the ligandis aminoethylfucose (AEF). In certain embodiments, a saccharide ligandis of the “D” configuration. In other embodiments, a saccharide ligandis of the “L” configuration. Below we show the structures of theseexemplary ligands. Other exemplary ligands will be recognized by thoseskilled in the art.

In general, ligands may be directly or indirectly conjugated (i.e., viaa linker or framework) to the drug. As discussed in more detail below,the ligands may be naturally present within a conjugate framework (e.g.,as part of a polymer backbone or as a side group of a monomer).Alternatively (or additionally) ligands may be artificially incorporatedinto a conjugate framework (e.g., in the form of a chemical group thatis synthetically added to a conjugate framework). In certainembodiments, a conjugate may include a framework which comprises 5 ormore, 10 or more, or 20 or more ligands. In certain embodiments, aconjugate may comprise as few as 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 separate ligands.

In certain embodiments, at least two separate ligands are conjugated tothe drug via different conjugation points. In certain embodiments, atleast two separate ligands are conjugated to a single conjugateframework that is also conjugated to the drug. In some embodiments, atleast one ligand, such as AETM, AEG, AEM, AEBM, AEGA, or AEF, isconjugated to one insulin molecule. In certain embodiments, at least oneAETM ligand is conjugated to one insulin molecule. In some embodiments,at least two ligands, such as AETM, AEG, AEM, AEBM, AEGA, or AEF, areconjugated to one insulin molecule, either through one conjugation pointor multiple conjugation points. In certain embodiments, the at least twoligands are not the same ligand. In certain embodiments, the at leasttwo ligands are the same ligand. In certain embodiments, at least twoAETM ligands are conjugated to one insulin molecule, either through oneconjugation point or multiple conjugation points. As discussed in moredetail below in the context of certain exemplary conjugate frameworks,in certain embodiments the separate ligands and drug (e.g., an insulinmolecule) may each be located on a separate branch of a branchedconjugate framework. For example, the ligands and drug may be located ontermini of these branches. In certain embodiments a hyperbranchedconjugate framework may be used. Both polymeric and non-polymericconjugate frameworks are encompassed.

Methods for conjugating ligands to a conjugate framework are discussedin more detail below. In certain embodiments, the saccharide within theone or more ligands is conjugated (directly or indirectly by way of alinker) via the C1, C2 or C6 position. In certain embodiments, theconjugation involves the C1 position. The C1 position of a saccharide isalso referred to as the anomeric carbon and may be connected to the drugor conjugate framework in the alpha or beta conformation. In certainembodiments, the C1 position is configured as the alpha anomer. In otherembodiments, the C1 position is configured as the beta anomer.

Drug

It is to be understood that a conjugate can comprise any drug. Aconjugate can comprise more than one copy of the same drug and/or cancomprise more than one type of drug. The conjugates are not limited toany particular drug and may include small molecule drugs or biomoleculardrugs. In general, the drug(s) used will depend on the disease ordisorder to be treated. As used herein, the term “drug” encompasses saltand non-salt forms of the drug. For example, the term “insulin molecule”encompasses all salt and non-salt forms of the insulin molecule. It willbe appreciated that the salt form may be anionic or cationic dependingon the drug.

For example, without limitation, in various embodiments a conjugate cancomprise any one of the following drugs: diclofenac, nifedipine,rivastigmine, methylphenidate, fluoroxetine, rosiglitazone, prednison,prednisolone, codeine, ethylmorphine, dextromethorphan, noscapine,pentoxiverine, acetylcysteine, bromhexine, epinephrine, isoprenaline,orciprenaline, ephedrine, fenoterol, rimiterol, ipratropium,cholinetheophyllinate, proxiphylline, bechlomethasone, budesonide,deslanoside, digoxine, digitoxin, disopyramide, proscillaridin,chinidine, procainamide, mexiletin, flecamide, alprenolol, proproanolol,nadolol, pindolol, oxprenolol, labetalol, tirnolol, atenolol,pentaeritrityltetranitrate, isosorbiddinitrate, isosorbidmononitrate,niphedipin, phenylamine, verapamil, diltiazem, cyclandelar,nicotinylalcholhol, inositolnicotinate, alprostatdil, etilephrine,prenalterol, dobutamine, dopamine, dihydroergotamine, guanetidine,betanidine, methyldopa, reserpine, guanfacine, trimethaphan,hydralazine, dihydralazine, prazosine, diazoxid, captopril, nifedipine,enalapril, nitroprusside, bendroflumethiazide, hydrochlorthiazide,metychlothiazide, polythiazide, chlorthalidon, cinetazon, clopamide,mefruside, metholazone, bumetanide, ethacrynacide, spironolactone,amiloride, chlofibrate, nicotinic acid, nicheritrol, brompheniramine,cinnarizine, dexchlorpheniramine, clemastine, antazoline,cyproheptadine, proethazine, cimetidine, ranitidine, sucralfat,papaverine, moxaverine, atropin, butylscopolamin, emepron, glucopyrron,hyoscyamine, mepensolar, methylscopolamine, oxiphencyclimine,probanteline, terodilin, sennaglycosides, sagradaextract, dantron,bisachodyl, sodiumpicosulfat, etulos, diphenolxylate, loperamide,salazosulfapyridine, pyrvin, mebendazol, dimeticon, ferrofumarate,ferrosuccinate, ferritetrasemisodium, cyanochobalamine, folid acidheparin, heparin co-factor, diculmarole, warfarin, streptokinase,urokinase, factor VIII, factor IX, vitamin K, thiopeta, busulfan,chlorambucil, cyclophosphamid, melfalan, carmustin, mercatopurin,thioguanin, azathioprin, cytarabin, vinblastin, vinchristin, vindesin,procarbazine, dacarbazine, lomustin, estramustin, teniposide, etoposide,cisplatin, amsachrin, aminogluthetimid, phosphestrol,medroxiprogresterone, hydroxiprogesterone, megesterol, noretisteron,tamoxiphen, ciclosporin, sulfosomidine, bensylpenicillin,phenoxymethylpenicillin, dicloxacillin, cloxacillin, flucoxacillin,ampicillin, amoxicillin, pivampicillin, bacampicillin, piperacillin,meziocillin, mecillinam, pivmecillinam, cephalotin, cephalexin,cephradin, cephydroxil, cephaclor, cefuroxim, cefotaxim, ceftazidim,cefoxitin, aztreonam, imipenem, cilastatin, tetracycline, lymecycline,demeclocycline, metacycline, oxitetracycline, doxycycline,chloramphenicol, spiramycin, fusidic acid, lincomycin, clindamycin,spectinomycin, rifampicin, amphotericin B, griseofulvin, nystatin,vancomycin, metronidazole, timidazole, trimethoprim, norfloxacin,salazosulfapyridin, aminosalyl, isoniazid, etambutol, nitrofurantoin,nalidixic acid, metanamine, chloroquin, hydroxichloroquin, timidazol,ketokonazol, acyclovir, interferon idoxuridin, retinal, tiamin,dexpantenol, pyridoxin, folic acid, ascorbic acid, tokoferol,phytominadion, phenfluramin, corticotropin, tetracosactid, tyrotropin,somatotoprin, somatrem, vasopressin, lypressin, desmopressin, oxytocin,chloriongonadotropin, cortison, hydrocortisone, fluodrocortison,prednison, prednisolon, fluoximesteron, mesterolon, nandrolon,stanozolol, oximetolon, cyproteron, levotyroxin, liotyronin,propylthiouracil, carbimazol, tiamazol, dihydrotachysterol,alfacalcidol, calcitirol, insulin, tolbutamid, chlorpropamid, tolazamid,glipizid, glibenclamid, phenobarbital, methyprylon, pyrityidion,meprobamat, chlordiazepoxid, diazepam, nitrazepam, baclofen, oxazepam,dikaliumclorazepat, lorazepam, flunitrazepam, alprazolam, midazolam,hydroxizin, dantrolene, chlomethiazol, propionmazine, alimemazine,chlorpromazine, levomepromazine, acetophenazine, fluphenazine,perphenazine, prochlorperazine, trifluoperazine, dixyrazine,thiodirazine, periciazin, chloprothixene, tizanidine, zaleplon,zuclopentizol, flupentizol, thithixen, haloperidol, trimipramin,opipramol, chlomipramin, desipramin, lofepramin, amitriptylin,nortriptylin, protriptylin, maptrotilin, caffeine, cinnarizine,cyclizine, dimenhydinate, meclozine, prometazine, thiethylperazine,metoclopramide, scopolamine, phenobarbital, phenyloine, ethosuximide,primidone, carbamazepine, chlonazepam, orphenadrine, atropine,bensatropine, biperiden, metixene, procylidine, levodopa, bromocriptin,amantadine, ambenon, pyridostigmine, synstigmine, disulfuram, morphine,codeine, pentazocine, buprenorphine, pethidine, phenoperidine,phentanyl, methadone, piritramide, dextropropoxyphene, ketobemidone,acetylsalicylic acid, celecoxib, phenazone, phenylbutazone,azapropazone, piroxicam, ergotamine, dihydroergotamine, cyproheptadine,pizitifen, flumedroxon, allopurinol, probenecid, sodiummaurothiomalateauronofin, penicillamine, estradiol, estradiolvalerianate, estriol,ethinylestradiol, dihydrogesteron, lynestrenol, medroxiprogresterone,noretisterone, cyclophenile, clomiphene, levonorgestrel, mestranol,ornidazol, timidazol, ekonazol, chlotrimazol, natamycine, miconazole,sulbentin, methylergotamine, dinoprost, dinoproston, gemeprost,bromocriptine, phenylpropanolamine, sodiumchromoglicate, azetasolamide,dichlophenamide, betacarotene, naloxone, calciumfolinate, in particularclonidine, thephylline, dipyradamol, hydrochlothiazade, scopolamine,indomethacine, furosemide, potassium chloride, morphine, ibuprofen,salbutamol, terbutalin, calcitonin, etc. It is to be understood thatthis list is intended to be exemplary and that any drug, whether knownor later discovered, may be used in a conjugate of the presentdisclosure.

In various embodiments, a conjugate may include a hormonal drug whichmay be peptidic or non-peptidic, e.g., adrenaline, noradrenaline,angiotensin, atriopeptin, aldosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone,androstenedione, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, calcitonin,calcitriol, calcidiol, corticotropin, cortisol, dopamine, estradiol,estrone, estriol, erythropoietin, follicle-stimulating hormone, gastrin,ghrelin, glucagon, gonadotropin-releasing hormone, growth hormone,growth hormone-releasing hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin,histamine, human placental lactogen, insulin, insulin-like growthfactor, inhibin, leptin, a leukotriene, lipotropin, melatonin, orexin,oxytocin, parathyroid hormone, progesterone, prolactin,prolactin-releasing hormone, a prostglandin, renin, serotonin, secretin,somatostatin, thrombopoietin, thyroid-stimulating hormone,thyrotropin-releasing hormone (or thyrotropin), thyrotropin-releasinghormone, thyroxine, triiodothyronine, vasopressin, etc. In certainembodiments, the hormone may be selected from glucagon, insulin,insulin-like growth factor, leptin, thyroid-stimulating hormone,thyrotropin-releasing hormone (or thyrotropin), thyrotropin-releasinghormone, thyroxine, and triiodothyronine. In certain embodiments, thedrug is insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). It is to be understoodthat this list is intended to be exemplary and that any hormonal drug,whether known or later discovered, may be used in a conjugate of thepresent disclosure.

In various embodiments, a conjugate may include a thyroid hormone.

In various embodiments, a conjugate may include an anti-diabetic drug(i.e., a drug which has a beneficial effect on patients suffering fromdiabetes).

In various embodiments, a conjugate may include an insulin molecule. Asused herein, the term “insulin” or “insulin molecule” encompasses allsalt and non-salt forms of the insulin molecule. It will be appreciatedthat the salt form may be anionic or cationic depending on the insulinmolecule. By “insulin” or “an insulin molecule” we intend to encompassboth wild-type and modified forms of insulin as long as they arebioactive (i.e., capable of causing a detectable reduction in glucosewhen administered in vivo). Wild-type insulin includes insulin from anyspecies whether in purified, synthetic or recombinant form (e.g., humaninsulin, porcine insulin, bovine insulin, rabbit insulin, sheep insulin,etc.). A number of these are available commercially, e.g., fromSigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, Mo.). A variety of modified forms of insulinare known in the art (e.g. see Crotty and Reynolds, Pediatr. Emerg.Care. 23:903-905, 2007 and Gerich, Am. J. Med. 113:308-16, 2002 andreferences cited therein). Modified forms of insulin may be chemicallymodified (e.g., by addition of a chemical moiety such as a PEG group ora fatty acyl chain as described below) and/or mutated (i.e., byaddition, deletion or substitution of one or more amino acids).

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurewill differ from a wild-type insulin by 1-10 (e.g., 1-9, 1-8, 1-7, 1-6,1-5, 1-4, 1-3, 1-2, 2-9, 2-8, 2-7, 2-6, 2-5, 2-4, 2-3, 3-9, 3-8, 3-7,3-6, 3-5, 3-4, 4-9, 4-8, 4-7, 4-6, 4-5, 5-9, 5-8, 5-7, 5-6, 6-9, 6-8,6-7, 7-9, 7-8, 8-9, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1) amino acidsubstitutions, additions and/or deletions. In certain embodiments, aninsulin molecule of the present disclosure will differ from a wild-typeinsulin by amino acid substitutions only. In certain embodiments, aninsulin molecule of the present disclosure will differ from a wild-typeinsulin by amino acid additions only. In certain embodiments, an insulinmolecule of the present disclosure will differ from a wild-type insulinby both amino acid substitutions and additions. In certain embodiments,an insulin molecule of the present disclosure will differ from awild-type insulin by both amino acid substitutions and deletions.

In certain embodiments, amino acid substitutions may be made on thebasis of similarity in polarity, charge, solubility, hydrophobicity,hydrophilicity, and/or the amphipathic nature of the residues involved.In certain embodiments, a substitution may be conservative, that is, oneamino acid is replaced with one of similar shape and charge.Conservative substitutions are well known in the art and typicallyinclude substitutions within the following groups: glycine, alanine;valine, isoleucine, leucine; aspartic acid, glutamic acid; asparagine,glutamine; serine, threonine; lysine, arginine; and tyrosine,phenylalanine. In certain embodiments, the hydrophobic index of aminoacids may be considered in choosing suitable mutations. The importanceof the hydrophobic amino acid index in conferring interactive biologicalfunction on a polypeptide is generally understood in the art.Alternatively, the substitution of like amino acids can be madeeffectively on the basis of hydrophilicity. The importance ofhydrophilicity in conferring interactive biological function of apolypeptide is generally understood in the art. The use of thehydrophobic index or hydrophilicity in designing polypeptides is furtherdiscussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,198.

The wild-type sequence of human insulin (A-chain and B-chain) is shownbelow and in FIG. 63.

A-Chain (SEQ ID NO: 1): GIVEQCCTSICSLYQLENYCN B-Chain (SEQ ID NO: 2):FVNQHLCGSHLVEALYLVCGERGFFYTPKT

Human insulin differs from rabbit, porcine, bovine, and sheep insulinonly in amino acids A8, A9, A10, and B30 (see table below).

Amino Acid Position Insulin A8 A9 A10 B30 human Thr Ser Ile Thr rabbitThr Ser Ile Ser porcine Thr Ser Ile Ala bovine Ala Ser Val Ala sheep AlaGly Val Ala

In various embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosure ismutated at the B28 and/or B29 positions of the B-peptide sequence. Forexample, insulin lispro (HUMALOG®) is a rapid acting insulin mutant inwhich the penultimate lysine and proline residues on the C-terminal endof the B-peptide have been reversed (Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin).This modification blocks the formation of insulin multimers. Insulinaspart (NOVOLOG®) is another rapid acting insulin mutant in whichproline at position B28 has been substituted with aspartic acid(Asp^(B28)-human insulin). This mutant also prevents the formation ofmultimers. In some embodiments, mutation at positions B28 and/or B29 isaccompanied by one or more mutations elsewhere in the insulinpolypeptide. For example, insulin glulisine (APIDRA®) is yet anotherrapid acting insulin mutant in which aspartic acid at position B3 hasbeen replaced by a lysine residue and lysine at position B29 has beenreplaced with a glutamic acid residue (Lys^(B3)Glu^(B29)-human insulin).

In various embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurehas an isoelectric point that is shifted relative to human insulin. Insome embodiments, the shift in isoelectric point is achieved by addingone or more arginine residues to the N-terminus of the insulin A-peptideand/or the C-terminus of the insulin B-peptide. Examples of such insulinpolypeptides include Arg^(A0)-human insulin, Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin, Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,Arg^(A0)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin, andArg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32) human insulin. By way of furtherexample, insulin glargine (LANTUS®) is an exemplary long acting insulinmutant in which Asp^(A21) has been replaced by glycine, and two arginineresidues have been added to the C-terminus of the B-peptide. The effectof these changes is to shift the isoelectric point, producing a solutionthat is completely soluble at pH 4. Thus, in some embodiments, aninsulin molecule of the present disclosure comprises an A-peptidesequence wherein A21 is Gly and B-peptide sequence wherein B31 and B32are Arg-Arg. It is to be understood that the present disclosureencompasses all single and multiple combinations of these mutations andany other mutations that are described herein (e.g., Gly^(A21)-humaninsulin, Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)-human insulin, Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin, Arg^(B31)-human insulin).

In various embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosure istruncated. For example, in certain embodiments, a B-peptide sequence ofan insulin polypeptide of the present disclosure is missing B1, B2, B3,B26, B27, B28, B29 and/or B30. In certain embodiments, combinations ofresidues are missing from the B-peptide sequence of an insulinpolypeptide of the present disclosure. For example, the B-peptidesequence may be missing residues B(1-2), B(1-3), B(29-30), B(28-30),B(27-30) and/or B(26-30). In some embodiments, these deletions and/ortruncations apply to any of the aforementioned insulin molecules (e.g.,without limitation to produce des(B30)-insulin lispro, des(B30)-insulinaspart, des(B30)-insulin glulisine, des(B30)-insulin glargine, etc.).

In some embodiments, an insulin molecule contains additional amino acidresidues on the N- or C-terminus of the A or B-peptide sequences. Insome embodiments, one or more amino acid residues are located atpositions A0, A21, B0 and/or B31. In some embodiments, one or more aminoacid residues are located at position A0. In some embodiments, one ormore amino acid residues are located at position A21. In someembodiments, one or more amino acid residues are located at position B0.In some embodiments, one or more amino acid residues are located atposition B31. In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule does notinclude any additional amino acid residues at positions A0, A21, B0 orB31.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosure ismutated such that one or more amidated amino acids are replaced withacidic forms. For example, asparagine may be replaced with aspartic acidor glutamic acid. Likewise, glutamine may be replaced with aspartic acidor glutamic acid. In particular, Asn^(A185) Asn^(A21); or Asn^(B3), orany combination of those residues, may be replaced by aspartic acid orglutamic acid. Gln^(A15) or Gln^(B4), or both, may be replaced byaspartic acid or glutamic acid. In certain embodiments, an insulinmolecule has aspartic acid at position A21 or aspartic acid at positionB3, or both.

One skilled in the art will recognize that it is possible to mutate yetother amino acids in the insulin molecule while retaining biologicalactivity. For example, without limitation, the following modificationsare also widely accepted in the art: replacement of the histidineresidue of position B10 with aspartic acid (His^(B10)→Asp^(B10))replacement of the phenylalanine residue at position B1 with asparticacid (Phe^(B1)→Asp^(B1)); replacement of the threonine residue atposition B30 with alanine (Thr^(B30)→Ala^(B30)); replacement of thetyrosine residue at position B26 with alanine (Tyr^(B26)→Ala^(B26)); andreplacement of the serine residue at position B9 with aspartic acid(Ser^(B9)→Asp^(B9)).

In various embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurehas a protracted profile of action. Thus, in certain embodiments, aninsulin molecule of the present disclosure may be acylated with a fattyacid. That is, an amide bond is formed between an amino group on theinsulin molecule and the carboxylic acid group of the fatty acid. Theamino group may be the alpha-amino group of an N-terminal amino acid ofthe insulin molecule, or may be the epsilon-amino group of a lysineresidue of the insulin molecule. An insulin molecule of the presentdisclosure may be acylated at one or more of the three amino groups thatare present in wild-type human insulin or may be acylated on lysineresidue that has been introduced into the wild-type human insulinsequence. In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule may be acylated atposition B1. In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule may be acylatedat position B29. In certain embodiments, the fatty acid is selected frommyristic acid (C14), pentadecylic acid (C15), palmitic acid (C16),heptadecylic acid (C17) and stearic acid (C18). For example, insulindetemir (LEVEMIR®) is a long acting insulin mutant in which Thr^(B30)has been deleted, and a C14 fatty acid chain (myristic acid) has beenattached to Lys^(B29).

In some embodiments, the N-terminus of the A-peptide, the N-terminus ofthe B-peptide, the epsilon-amino group of Lys at position B29 or anyother available amino group in an insulin molecule of the presentdisclosure is covalently linked to a fatty acid moiety of generalformula:

wherein R^(F) is hydrogen or a C₁₋₃₀ alkyl group. In some embodiments,R^(F) is a C₁₋₂₀ alkyl group, a C₃₋₁₉ alkyl group, a C₅₋₁₈ alkyl group,a C₆₋₁₇ alkyl group, a C₈₋₁₆ alkyl group, a C₁₀₋₁₅ alkyl group, or aC₁₂₋₁₄ alkyl group. In certain embodiments, the insulin polypeptide isconjugated to the moiety at the A1 position. In certain embodiments, theinsulin polypeptide is conjugated to the moiety at the B1 position. Incertain embodiments, the insulin polypeptide is conjugated to the moietyat the epsilon-amino group of Lys at position B29. In certainembodiments, position B28 of the insulin molecule is Lys and theepsilon-amino group of Lys^(B28) is conjugated to the fatty acid moiety.In certain embodiments, position B3 of the insulin molecule is Lys andthe epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B3) is conjugated to the fatty acidmoiety. In some embodiments, the fatty acid chain is 8-20 carbons long.In some embodiments, the fatty acid is octanoic acid (C8), nonanoic acid(C9), decanoic acid (C10), undecanoic acid (C11), dodecanoic acid (C12),or tridecanoic acid (C13). In certain embodiments, the fatty acid ismyristic acid (C14), pentadecanoic acid (C15), palmitic acid (C16),heptadecanoic acid (C17), stearic acid (C18), nonadecanoic acid (C19),or arachidic acid (C20).

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin (insulinlispro), Asp^(B28)-humaninsulin (insulin aspart),Lys^(B3)Glu^(B29)-human insulin (insulin glulisine),Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin (insulin glargine),N^(εB29)-myristoyl-des(B30)-human insulin (insulin detemir),Ala^(B26)-human insulin, Asp^(B1)-human insulin, Arg^(A0)-human insulin,Asp^(B1)Glu^(B13)-human insulin, Gly^(A21)-human insulin,Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,Arg^(A0)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin, des(B30)-humaninsulin, des(B27)-human insulin, des(B28-B30)-human insulin,des(B1)-human insulin, des(B1-B3)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-palmitoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-myrisotyl-human insulin,N^(εB28)_palmitoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-myristoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-palmitoyl-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB30)-myristoyl-Thr^(B29)Lys^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB30)-palmitoyl-Thr^(B29)Lys^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)—(N-palmitoyl-γ-glutamyl)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)—(N-lithocolyl-γ-glutamyl)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-(w-carboxyheptadecanoyl)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-(w-carboxyheptadecanoyl)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-octanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-myristoyl-Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B31)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-myristoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-myristoyl-Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-myristoyl-Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Asp^(B3)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin, N^(εB29)-myristoyl-Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-myristoyl-Arg^(A0)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-octanoyl-Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-octanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-octanoyl-Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-octanoyl-Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB29)-octanoyl-Arg^(B0)Gly^(A21)Asp^(B3)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin, N^(εB29)-octanoyl-Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-octanoyl-Arg^(A0)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin polypeptides:N^(εB28)-myristoyl-Gly^(A21)Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB28)-myristoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Lys^(B28)Pro^(B30)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB28)-myristoyl-Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB28)-myristoyl-Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB28)-myristoyl-Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Asp^(B3)Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin, N^(εB28)-myristoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB28)-myristoyl-argmLys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB28)-octanoyl-Gly^(A21)Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules:N^(εB28)-octanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB28)-octanoyl-Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB28)-octanoyl-Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB28)-octanoyl-Arg^(A0)Gly^(A21)Asp^(B3)Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin, N^(εB28)-octanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB28)-octanoyl-Arg^(A0)Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-des(B30)-humaninsulin, N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-des (B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Gly^(A21)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Gly^(A21)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Gly^(A21)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Gly^(A21)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Gly^(A21)-Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Ala^(A21)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Ala^(A21)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Ala^(A21)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Ala^(A21)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Gln^(B3)-des(B30)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Gly^(A21)-humaninsulin, N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Gly^(A21)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Gly^(A21)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Gly^(A21)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Ala^(A21)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Ala^(A21)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Ala^(A21)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Ala^(A21)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules:N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Gln^(B3)-humaninsulin, N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Gln^(B3)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Gln^(B3)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Gln^(B3)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Glu^(B30)-humaninsulin, N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Glu^(B30)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules:N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Gly^(A21)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Gly^(A21)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Gly^(A21)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Gly^(A21)Glu^(B30)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules:N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Gly^(A21)Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Ala^(A21)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Ala^(A21)Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules:N^(εB29)-tridecanoyl-Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-tetradecanoyl-Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-dodecanoyl-Gln^(B3)Glu^(B30)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-formyl-human insulin,N^(αB1)-formyl-human insulin, N^(αA1)-formyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-formyl-N^(αB1)-formyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-formyl-N^(αA1)-formyl-human insulin,N^(αA1)-formyl-N^(αB1)-formyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-formyl-N^(αA1)-formyl-N^(αB1)-formyl-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-acetyl-human insulin,N^(αB1)-acetyl-human insulin, N^(αA1)-acetyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-acetyl-N^(αB1)-acetyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-acetyl-N^(αA1)-acetyl-human insulin,N^(αA1)-acetyl-N^(αB1)-acetyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-acetyl-N^(αA1)-acetyl-N^(αB1)-acetyl-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-propionyl-human insulin,N^(αB1)-propionyl-human insulin, N^(αA1)-propionyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-acetyl-N^(αB1)-propionyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-propionyl-N^(αA1)-propionyl-human insulin,N^(αA1)-propionyl-N^(αB1)-propionyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-propionyl-N^(αA1)-propionyl-N^(αB1)-propionyl-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-butyryl-human insulin,N^(αB1)-butyryl-human insulin, N^(αA1)-butyryl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-butyryl-N^(αB1)-butyryl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-butyryl-N^(αA1)-butyryl-human insulin,N^(αA1)-butyryl-N^(αB1)-butyryl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-butyryl-N^(αA1)-butyryl-N^(αB1)-butyryl-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-pentanoyl-human insulin,N^(αB1)-pentanoyl-human insulin, N^(αA1)-pentanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-pentanoyl-N^(αB1)-pentanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-pentanoyl-N^(αA1)-pentanoyl-human insulin,N^(αA1)-pentanoyl-N^(αB1)-pentanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-pentanoyl-N^(αA1)-pentanoyl-N^(αB1)-pentanoyl-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-hexanoyl-human insulin,N^(αB1)-hexanoyl-human insulin, N^(αA1)-hexanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-hexanoyl-N^(αB1)-hexanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-hexanoyl-N^(αA1)-hexanoyl-human insulin,N^(αA1)-hexanoyl-N^(αB1)-hexanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-hexanoyl-N^(αA1)-hexanoyl-N^(αB1)-hexanoyl-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-heptanoyl-human insulin,N^(αB1)-heptanoyl-human insulin, N^(αA1)-heptanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-heptanoyl-N^(αB1)-heptanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-heptanoyl-N^(αA1)-heptanoyl-human insulin,N^(αA1)-heptanoyl-N^(αB1)-heptanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-heptanoyl-N^(αA1)-heptanoyl-N^(αB1)-heptanoyl-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(αB1)-octanoyl-human insulin,N^(αA1)-octanoyl-human insulin, N^(εB29)-octanoyl-N^(αB1)-octanoyl-humaninsulin, N^(εB29)-octanoyl-N^(αA1)-octanoyl-human insulin,N^(αA1)-octanoyl-N^(αB1)-octanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-octanoyl-N^(αA1)-octanoyl-N^(αB1)-octanoyl-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-nonanoyl-human insulin,N^(αB1)-nonanoyl-human insulin, N^(αA1)-nonanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-nonanoyl-N^(αB1)-nonanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-nonanoyl-N^(αA1)-nonanoyl-human insulin,N^(αA1)-nonanoyl-N^(αB1)-nonanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-nonanoyl-N^(αA1)-nonanoyl-N^(αB1)-nonanoyl-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB29)-decanoyl-human insulin,N^(αB1)-decanoyl-human insulin, N^(αA1)-decanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-N^(αB1)-decanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-N^(αA1)-decanoyl-human insulin,N^(αA1)-decanoyl-N^(αB1)-decanoyl-human insulin,N^(εB29)-decanoyl-N^(αA1)-decanoyl-N^(αB1)-decanoyl-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB28)-formyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin, N^(αB1)-formyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-formyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-formyl-N^(αB1)-formyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-formyl-N^(αA1)-formyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-formyl-N^(αB1)-formyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-formyl-N^(αA1)-formyl-N^(αB1)-formyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin, N^(εB29)-acetyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αB1)-acetyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-acetyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-acetyl-N^(αB1)-acetyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules:N^(εB28)-acetyl-N^(αA1)-acetyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-acetyl-N^(αB1)-acetyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-acetyl-N^(αA1)-acetyl-N^(αB1)-acetyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N²⁸-propionyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin, N^(αB1)-propionyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-propionyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-propionyl-N^(αB1)-propionyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-propionyl-N^(αA1)-propionyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-propionyl-N^(αB1)-propionyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-propionyl-N^(αA1)-propionyl-propionyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB28)-butyryl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin, N^(αB1)-butyryl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-butyryl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-butyryl-N^(αB1)-butyryl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-butyryl-N^(αA1)-butyryl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-butyryl-N^(αB1)-butyryl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-butyryl-N^(αA1)-butyryl-N^(αA1)-butyryl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB28)-pentanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin, N^(αB1)-pentanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-pentanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-pentanoyl-N^(αB1)-pentanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-pentanoyl-N^(αA1)-pentanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-pentanoyl-N^(αB1)-pentanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-pentanoyl-N^(αA1)-pentanoyl-N^(αB1)-pentanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB28)-hexanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin, N^(αB1)-hexanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29-)human insulin,N^(αA1)-hexanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-hexanoyl-N^(αB1)-hexanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-hexanoyl-N^(αA1)-hexanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-hexanoyl-N^(αB1)-hexanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(B28)-hexanoyl-N^(αA1)-hexanoyl-N^(αB1)-hexanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB28)-heptanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin, N^(αB1)-heptanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-heptanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(B28)-heptanoyl-N^(αB1)-heptanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(B28)-heptanoyl-N^(αA1)-heptanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-heptanoyl-N^(αB1)-heptanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(B28)-heptanoyl-N^(αA1)-heptanoyl-N^(αB1)-heptanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB28)-octanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin, N^(αB1)-octanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-octanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-octanoyl-N^(αB1)-octanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-octanoyl-N^(αA1)-octanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-octanoyl-N^(αB1)-octanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-octanoyl-N^(αA1)-octanoyl-N^(αB1)-octanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB28)-nonanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin, N^(αB1)-nonanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-nonanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-nonanoyl-N^(αB1)-nonanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-nonanoyl-N^(αA1)-nonanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-nonanoyl-N^(αB1)-nonanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-nonanoyl-N^(αA1)-nonanoyl-nonanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules: N^(εB28)-decanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin, N^(αB1)-decanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-decanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-decanoyl-N^(αB1)-decanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-decanoyl-N^(αA1)-decanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-decanoyl-N^(αB1)-decanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-human insulin,N^(εB28)-decanoyl-N^(αA1)-decanoyl-N^(B)-decanoyl-Lys^(B28)Pro^(B29)-humaninsulin.

In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosurecomprises the mutations and/or chemical modifications of one of thefollowing insulin molecules:N^(εB29)-pentanoyl-Gly^(A21)Arg^(B3)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(αB1)-hexanoyl-Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-heptanoyl-Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-octanoyl-N^(αB1)-octanoyl-Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB29)-propionyl-N^(αA1)-propionyl-Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin, N^(αA1)-acetyl-N^(αB1)-acetyl-Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin,N^(εB29)-formyl-N^(αA1)-formyl-N^(αB1)-formyl-Gly^(A21)Arg^(B31)Arg^(B32)-humaninsulin, N^(εB29)-formyl-des(B26)-human insulin,N^(αB1)-acetyl-Asp^(B28)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-propionyl-N^(αA1)-propionyl-N^(αB1)-propionyl-Asp^(B1) Asp^(B3)Asp^(B21)-human insulin, N^(εB29)-pentanoyl-Gly^(A21)-human insulin,N^(αB1)-hexanoyl-Gly^(A21)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-heptanoyl-Gly^(A21)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-octanoyl-N^(αB1)-octanoyl-Gly^(A21)-human insulin,N^(B29)-propionyl-N^(αA1)-propionyl-Gly^(A21)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-acetyl-N^(αB1)-acetyl-Gly^(A21)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-formyl-N^(αA1)-formyl-N^(αB1)-formyl-Gly^(A21)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-butyryl-des(B30)-human insulin, N^(αB1)-butyryl-des(B30)-humaninsulin, N^(αA1)-butyryl-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-butyryl-N^(αB1)-butyryl-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-butyryl-N^(αA1)-butyryl-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(αA1)-butyryl-N^(αB1)-butyryl-des(B30)-human insulin,N^(εB29)-butyryl-N^(αA1)-butyryl-N^(αB1)-butyryl-des(B30)-human insulin.

The present disclosure also encompasses modified forms of non-humaninsulins (e.g., porcine insulin, bovine insulin, rabbit insulin, sheepinsulin, etc.) that comprise any one of the aforementioned mutationsand/or chemical modifications.

These and other modified insulin molecules are described in detail inU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,906,028; 6,551,992; 6,465,426; 6,444,641; 6,335,316;6,268,335; 6,051,551; 6,034,054; 5,952,297; 5,922,675; 5,747,642;5,693,609; 5,650,486; 5,547,929; 5,504,188; 5,474,978; 5,461,031; and4,421,685; and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,387,996; 6,869,930; 6,174,856;6,011,007; 5,866,538; and 5,750,497, the entire disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

In various embodiments, an insulin molecule of the present disclosureincludes the three wild-type disulfide bridges (i.e., one betweenposition 7 of the A-chain and position 7 of the B-chain, a secondbetween position 20 of the A-chain and position 19 of the B-chain, and athird between positions 6 and 11 of the A-chain).

In some embodiments, an insulin molecule is modified and/or mutated toreduce its affinity for the insulin receptor. Without wishing to bebound to a particular theory, it is believed that attenuating thereceptor affinity of an insulin molecule through modification (e.g.,acylation) or mutation may decrease the rate at which the insulinmolecule is eliminated from serum. In some embodiments, a decreasedinsulin receptor affinity in vitro translates into a superior in vivoactivity for an insulin conjugate. In certain embodiments, an insulinmolecule is mutated such that the site of mutation is used as aconjugation point, and conjugation at the mutated site reduces bindingto the insulin receptor (e.g., Lys^(A3)). In certain other embodiments,conjugation at an existing wild-type amino acid or terminus reducesbinding to the insulin receptor (e.g., Gly^(A1)). In some embodiments,an insulin molecule is conjugated at position A4, A5, A8, A9, or B30. Incertain embodiments, the conjugation at position A4, A5, A8, A9, or B30takes place via a wild-type amino acid side chain (e.g., Glu^(A4)). Incertain other embodiments, an insulin molecule is mutated at positionA4, A5, A8, A9, or B30 to provide a site for conjugation (e.g.,Lys^(A4), Lys^(A5), Lys^(A8), Lys^(A9), or Lys^(B30)).

Methods for conjugating drugs including insulin molecules are describedbelow. In certain embodiments, an insulin molecule is conjugated to aligand or conjugate framework via the A1 amino acid residue. In certainembodiments the A1 amino acid residue is glycine. It is to be understoodhowever, that the present disclosure is not limited to N-terminalconjugation and that in certain embodiments an insulin molecule may beconjugated via a non-terminal A-chain amino acid residue. In particular,the present disclosure encompasses conjugation via the epsilon-aminegroup of a lysine residue present at any position in the A-chain(wild-type or introduced by site-directed mutagenesis). It will beappreciated that different conjugation positions on the A-chain may leadto different reductions in insulin activity. In certain embodiments, aninsulin molecule is conjugated to the conjugate framework via the B1amino acid residue. In certain embodiments the B amino acid residue isphenylalanine. It is to be understood however, that the presentdisclosure is not limited to N-terminal conjugation and that in certainembodiments an insulin molecule may be conjugated via a non-terminalB-chain amino acid residue. In particular, the present disclosureencompasses conjugation via the epsilon-amine group of a lysine residuepresent at any position in the B-chain (wild-type or introduced bysite-directed mutagenesis). For example, in certain embodiments aninsulin molecule may be conjugated via the B29 lysine residue. In thecase of insulin glulisine, conjugation to the at least one ligand viathe B3 lysine residue may be employed. It will be appreciated thatdifferent conjugation positions on the B-chain may lead to differentreductions in insulin activity.

In certain embodiments, the ligands are conjugated to more than oneconjugation point on a drug such as an insulin molecule. For example, aninsulin molecule can be conjugated at both the A1 N-terminus and the B29lysine. In some embodiments, amide conjugation takes place in carbonatebuffer to conjugate at the B29 and A1 positions, but not at the B1position. In other embodiments, an insulin molecule can be conjugated atthe A1 N-terminus, the B1 N-terminus, and the B29 lysine. In yet otherembodiments, protecting groups are used such that conjugation takesplace at the B1 and B29 or B1 and A1 positions. It will be appreciatedthat any combination of conjugation points on an insulin molecule may beemployed. In some embodiments, at least one of the conjugation points isa mutated lysine residue, e.g., Lys^(A3).

In various embodiments, a conjugate may include an insulin sensitizer(i.e., a drug which potentiates the action of insulin). Drugs whichpotentiate the effects of insulin include biguanides (e.g., metformin)and glitazones. The first glitazone drug was troglitazone which turnedout to have severe side effects. Second generation glitazones includepioglitazone and rosiglitazone which are better tolerated althoughrosiglitazone has been associated with adverse cardiovascular events incertain trials.

In various embodiments, a conjugate may include an insulin secretagogue(i.e., a drug which stimulates insulin secretion by beta cells of thepancreas). For example, in various embodiments, a conjugate may includea sulfonylurea. Sulfonylureas stimulate insulin secretion by beta cellsof the pancreas by sensitizing them to the action of glucose.Sulfonylureas can, moreover, inhibit glucagon secretion and sensitizetarget tissues to the action of insulin. First generation sulfonylureasinclude tolbutamide, chlorpropamide and carbutamide. Second generationsulfonylureas which are active at lower doses include glipizide,glibenclamide, gliclazide, glibornuride and glimepiride. In variousembodiments, a conjugate may include a meglitinide. Suitablemeglitinides include nateglinide, mitiglinide and repaglinide. Theirhypoglycemic action is faster and shorter than that of sulfonylureas.Other insulin secretagogues include glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) andGLP-1 analogs (i.e., a peptide with GLP-1 like bioactivity that differsfrom GLP-1 by 1-10 amino acid substitutions, additions or deletionsand/or by a chemical modification). GLP-1 reduces food intake byinhibiting gastric emptying, increasing satiety through central actionsand by suppressing glucagon release. GLP-1 lowers plasma glucose levelsby increasing pancreas islet cell proliferation and increases insulinproduction following food consumption. GLP-1 may be chemically modified,e.g., by lipid conjugation as in liraglutide to extend its in vivohalf-life. Yet other insulin secretagogues include exendin-4 andexendin-4 analogs (i.e., a peptide with exendin-4 like bioactivity thatdiffers from exendin-4 by 1-10 amino acid substitutions, additions ordeletions and/or by a chemical modification). Exendin-4, found in thevenom of the Gila Monster, exhibits GLP-1 like bioactivity. It has amuch longer half-life than GLP-1 and, unlike GLP-1, it can be truncatedby 8 amino acid residues at its N-terminus without losing bioactivity.The N-terminal region of GLP-1 and exendin-4 are almost identical, asignificant difference being the second amino acid residue, alanine inGLP-1 and glycine in exendin-4, which gives exendin-4 its resistance toin vivo digestion. Exendin-4 also has an extra 9 amino acid residues atits C-terminus as compared to GLP-1. Mann et al. Biochem. Soc. Trans.35:713-716, 2007 and Runge et al., Biochemistry 46:5830-5840, 2007describe a variety of GLP-1 and exendin-4 analogs which may be used in aconjugate of the present disclosure. The short half-life of GLP-1results from enzymatic digestion by dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV). Incertain embodiments, the effects of endogenous GLP-1 may be enhanced byadministration of a DPP-IV inhibitor (e.g., vildagliptin, sitagliptin,saxagliptin, linagliptin or alogliptin).

In various embodiments, a conjugate may include amylin or an amylinanalog (i.e., a peptide with amylin like bioactivity that differs fromamylin by 1-10 amino acid substitutions, additions or deletions and/orby a chemical modification). Amylin plays an important role in glucoseregulation (e.g., see Edelman and Weyer, Diabetes Technol. Ther.4:175-189, 2002). Amylin is a neuroendocrine hormone that is co-secretedwith insulin by the beta cells of the pancreas in response to foodintake. While insulin works to regulate glucose disappearance from thebloodstream, amylin works to help regulate glucose appearance in thebloodstream from the stomach and liver. Pramlintide acetate (SYMLIN®) isan exemplary amylin analog. Since native human amylin is amyloidogenic,the strategy for designing pramlintide involved substituting certainresidues with those from rat amylin, which is not amyloidogenic. Inparticular, proline residues are known to be structure-breakingresidues, so these were directly grafted from the rat sequence into thehuman sequence. Glu-10 was also substituted with an asparagine.

In various embodiments, a pre-conjugated drug may contain one or morereactive moieties (e.g., carboxyl or reactive ester, amine, hydroxyl,aldehyde, sulfhydryl, maleimidyl, alkynyl, azido, etc. moieties). Asdiscussed below, these reactive moieties may, in certain embodiments,facilitate the conjugation process. Specific examples include peptidicdrugs bearing alpha-terminal amine and/or epsilon-amine lysine groups.It will be appreciated that any of these reactive moieties may beartificially added to a known drug if not already present. For example,in the case of peptidic drugs a suitable amino acid (e.g., a lysine) maybe added or substituted into the amino acid sequence. In addition, asdiscussed in more detail below, it will be appreciated that theconjugation process may be controlled by selectively blocking certainreactive moieties prior to conjugation.

In various embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure may beexploited to manipulate a natural feedback mechanism between glucose andinsulin (where the level of insulin increases as the level of glucoseincreases and the level of glucose decreases as the level of insulinincreases). Alternatively, in various embodiments, the drug can be amolecule that (a) has the same function as insulin (e.g., reducesglucose levels), (b) stimulates the production of the insulin and/or (c)potentiates the effect(s) of insulin. For example, as discussed aboveone could use an insulin secretagogue or an insulin sensitizer insteadof insulin as the drug.

In various embodiments, a conjugate can be used which includes a drugwith a function that is not directly related to glucose. Withoutlimitation, a conjugate which responds to glucose may be used to providelong-term, mealtime dosing of a drug. Any drug which needs to be dosedperiodically and/or with food would benefit from such a delivery system.As is well known in the art, many traditional drugs need to beadministered with food or at mealtimes. For example, drugs which inhibitthe absorption of fats (e.g., orlistat) are advantageously presentduring mealtime. Similarly, drugs which lower lipid levels, e.g.,lovastatin, atorvastatin, or simvastatin, or triglyceride levels, e.g.,gemfibrozil, may also be advantageously released at mealtimes.

Exemplary Insulin Conjugates

In various embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprisesan insulin molecule conjugated to one or more ligands that areindependently selected from the group consisting of aminoethylglucose(AEG), aminoethylmannose (AEM), aminoethylbimannose (AEBM),aminoethyltrimannose (AETM), O-aminoethyl-N-acetylglucosamine (AEGA),and aminoethylfucose (AEF). In certain embodiments, the insulin moleculeis conjugated via the A1 amino acid residue. In certain embodiments, theinsulin molecule is conjugated via the B1 amino acid residue. In certainembodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the epsilon-aminogroup of Lys^(B29). In certain embodiments, the insulin molecule isinsulin glulisine conjugated via the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B3).

In certain embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprisesan insulin molecule conjugated to one or more aminoethylglucose (AEG)ligands. In certain embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosurecomprises an insulin molecule conjugated to one or moreaminoethylmannose (AEM) ligands. In certain embodiments, a conjugate ofthe present disclosure comprises an insulin molecule conjugated to oneor more aminoethylbimannose (AEBM) ligands. In certain embodiments, aconjugate of the present disclosure comprises an insulin moleculeconjugated to one or more aminoethyltrimannose (AETM) ligands. Incertain embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprises aninsulin molecule conjugated to one or moreβ-aminoethyl-N-acetylglucosamine (AEGA) ligands. In certain embodiments,a conjugate of the present disclosure comprises an insulin moleculeconjugated to one or more aminoethylfucose (AEF) ligands.

In various embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprisesan insulin molecule conjugated to two or more separate ligands. In someembodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprises an insulinmolecule conjugated to two separate ligands. In other embodiments, aconjugate of the present disclosure comprises an insulin moleculeconjugated to three separate ligands. In certain embodiments, aconjugate of the present disclosure comprises an insulin moleculeconjugated to four separate ligands. In certain embodiments, the two ormore separate ligands of such a conjugate are aminoethylglucose (AEG).In certain embodiments, the two or more separate ligands of such aconjugate are aminoethylmannose (AEM). In certain embodiments, the twoor more separate ligands of such a conjugate are aminoethylbimannose(AEBM). In certain embodiments, the two or more separate ligands of sucha conjugate are aminoethyltrimannose (AETM). In certain embodiments, thetwo or more separate ligands of such a conjugate areβ-aminoethyl-N-acetylglucosamine (AEGA). In certain embodiments, the twoor more separate ligands of such a conjugate are aminoethylfucose (AEF).

In various embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprisestwo or more separate ligands conjugated to a single conjugate frameworkthat is also conjugated to an insulin molecule. In some embodiments, thetwo or more separate ligands and insulin molecule of such a conjugateare each located on a separate branch of a single branched conjugateframework. In some embodiments, the two or more separate ligands andinsulin molecule of such a conjugate are each located on termini ofseparate branches of a single branched conjugate framework. In someembodiments, the two or more separate ligands of such a conjugate areconjugated to the insulin molecule via two or more different conjugationpoints. In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugatedvia the A1 amino acid residue and the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B29).In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated to twoseparate conjugate frameworks that are each conjugated to one or moreseparate ligands. In other such embodiments, the insulin molecule isconjugated to two separate conjugate frameworks that are each conjugatedto one ligand. In yet other such embodiments, the insulin molecule isconjugated to two separate branched conjugate frameworks that are eachconjugated to two ligands. In certain such embodiments, the ligands arelocated on separate branches of the branched conjugate frameworks. Inother such embodiments, the ligands are located on termini of separatebranches of the branched conjugate frameworks.

In various embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprisesan insulin molecule conjugated to aminoethylglucose (AEG). In certainsuch embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the A1 aminoacid residue. In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule isconjugated via the B1 amino acid residue. In certain such embodiments,the insulin molecule is conjugated via the epsilon-amino group ofLys^(B29). In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule is insulinglulisine conjugated via the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B3). In certainsuch embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the A1 aminoacid residue and the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B29).

In various embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprisesan insulin molecule conjugated to aminoethylmannose (AEM). In certainsuch embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the A1 aminoacid residue. In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule isconjugated via the B1 amino acid residue. In certain such embodiments,the insulin molecule is conjugated via the epsilon-amino group ofLys^(B29). In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule is insulinglulisine conjugated via the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B3). In certainsuch embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the A1 aminoacid residue and the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B29).

In various embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprisesan insulin molecule conjugated to aminoethylbimannose (AEBM). In certainsuch embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the A1 aminoacid residue. In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule isconjugated via the B1 amino acid residue. In certain such embodiments,the insulin molecule is conjugated via the epsilon-amino group ofLys^(B29). In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule is insulinglulisine conjugated via the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B3). In certainsuch embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the A1 aminoacid residue and the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B29).

In various embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprisesan insulin molecule conjugated to aminoethyltrimannose (AETM). Incertain such embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the A1amino acid residue. In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule isconjugated via the B1 amino acid residue. In certain such embodiments,the insulin molecule is conjugated via the epsilon-amino group ofLys^(B29). In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule is insulinglulisine conjugated via the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B3). In certainsuch embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the A1 aminoacid residue and the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B29).

In various embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprisesan insulin molecule conjugated to β-aminoethyl-N-acetylglucosamine(AEGA). In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugatedvia the A1 amino acid residue. In certain such embodiments, the insulinmolecule is conjugated via the B1 amino acid residue. In certain suchembodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the epsilon-aminogroup of Lys^(B29). In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule isinsulin glulisine conjugated via the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B3). Incertain such embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the A1amino acid residue and the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B29).

In various embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure comprisesan insulin molecule conjugated to aminoethylfucose (AEF). In certainsuch embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the A1 aminoacid residue. In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule isconjugated via the B1 amino acid residue. In certain such embodiments,the insulin molecule is conjugated via the epsilon-amino group ofLys^(B29). In certain such embodiments, the insulin molecule is insulinglulisine conjugated via the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B3). In certainsuch embodiments, the insulin molecule is conjugated via the A1 aminoacid residue and the epsilon-amino group of Lys^(B29).

Conjugate Frameworks

This section describes some exemplary conjugate frameworks. In variousembodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure may have the generalformula (I):

wherein:

-   -   each occurrence of

-   -    represents a potential branch within the conjugate;    -   each occurrence of

-   -    represents a potential repeat within a branch of the conjugate;    -   each occurrence of        is independently a covalent bond, a carbon atom, a heteroatom,        or an optionally substituted group selected from the group        consisting of acyl, aliphatic, heteroaliphatic, aryl,        heteroaryl, and heterocyclic;    -   each occurrence of T is independently a covalent bond or a        bivalent, straight or branched, saturated or unsaturated,        optionally substituted C₁₋₃₀ hydrocarbon chain wherein one or        more methylene units of T are optionally and independently        replaced by —O—, —S—, —N(R)—, —C(O)—, —C(O)O—, —OC(O)—,        —N(R)C(O)—, —C(O)N(R)—, —S(O)—, —S(O)₂—, —N(R)SO₂—, —SO₂N(R)—, a        heterocyclic group, an aryl group, or a heteroaryl group;    -   each occurrence of R is independently hydrogen, a suitable        protecting group, or an acyl moiety, arylalkyl moiety, aliphatic        moiety, aryl moiety, heteroaryl moiety, or heteroaliphatic        moiety;    -   —B is -T-L^(B)-X;    -   each occurrence of X is independently a ligand;    -   each occurrence of L^(B) is independently a covalent bond or a        group derived from the covalent conjugation of a T with an X;    -   -D is -T-L^(D)-W;    -   each occurrence of W is independently a drug;    -   each occurrence of L^(D) is independently a covalent bond or a        group derived from the covalent conjugation of a T with a W;    -   k is an integer from 1 to 12, inclusive;    -   q is an integer from 1 to 4, inclusive;    -   each occurrence of p is independently an integer from 1 to 5,        inclusive; and    -   each occurrence of n is independently an integer from 0 to 5,        inclusive; and    -   each occurrence of m is independently an integer from 1 to 5,        inclusive; and    -   each occurrence of v is independently an integer from 0 to 5,        inclusive, with the proviso that within each k-branch at least        one occurrence of n is ≧1 and at least one occurrence of v is        ≧1.

It is to be understood that general formula (I) (and other formulasherein) does not expressly list every hydrogen. For example, if thecentral

is a C₆ aryl group and k+q<6 it will be appreciated that the openposition(s) on the C₆ aryl ring include a hydrogen.

In general, it will be appreciated that each occurrence of

represents a potential branching node and that the number of branches ateach node are determined by the values of k for the central

and n for non-central occurrences of

. One of ordinary skill will appreciate that because each occurrence ofn may be an integer from 0 to 5, the present disclosure contemplateslinear, branched, and hyperbranched (e.g., dendrimer-like) embodimentsof these conjugates. The proviso which requires that within eachk-branch at least one occurrence of n is ≧1 and at least one occurrenceof v is ≧1 ensures that every conjugate includes at least one occurrenceof B (i.e., a ligand).

In certain embodiments, each occurrence of

in a p-bracketed moiety is substituted by a number of n-bracketedmoieties corresponding to a value of n≧1. For example, when k=2 and p=2in both k-branches, the conjugate may be of the formula (Ia):

In other embodiments, only terminal occurrences of

in a p-bracketed moiety are substituted by a number of n-bracketedmoieties corresponding to a value of n≧1. For example, when k=2 and p=2in both k-branches (and n=0 for the first p-bracketed moiety in bothk-branches), the conjugate may be of the formula (Ib):

In certain embodiments, each occurrence of

in an m-bracketed moiety is substituted by a number of B moietiescorresponding to the value of v≧1. For example, when k=2, eachoccurrence of p=1, and each occurrence of m=2, the conjugate may be ofthe formula (Ic):

In other embodiments, only terminal occurrences of

in an m-bracketed moiety are substituted by a number of B moietiescorresponding to a value of v≧1. For example, when k=2, each occurrenceof p=1, and each occurrence of m=2 (and v=0 for the first m-bracketedmoiety in each n-branch), the conjugate may be of the formula (Id):

By way of further example, when q=1 and n=1 in both k-branches of theprevious formula, the conjugate may be of the formula (Ie):

Alternatively, when q=1 and n=2 in both k-branches of the previousformula, the conjugate may be of the formula (If):

In various embodiments, the present disclosure also provides conjugateswhich include ligands and/or a drug which is non-covalently bound to aconjugate framework.

For example, in some embodiments, the present disclosure providesconjugates of any of the foregoing formulas, wherein:

-   -   each of        , T, D, k, q, p, n, m and v is defined as described above and        herein;    -   —B is -T-LRP^(B)—X;    -   each occurrence of X is independently a ligand; and    -   each occurrence of LRP^(B) is independently a ligand-receptor        pair which forms a non-covalent bond between T and X with a        dissociation constant in human serum of less than 1 pmol/L.

In yet other embodiments, the present disclosure provides conjugates ofany of the foregoing formulas, wherein:

-   -   each of        , T, B, k, q, p, n, m and v is defined as described above and        herein;    -   -D is -T-LRP^(D)—W;    -   each occurrence of W is independently a drug; and    -   each occurrence of LRP^(D) is independently a ligand-receptor        pair which forms a non-covalent bond between T and W with a        dissociation constant in human serum of less than 1 pmol/L.

In other embodiments, the present disclosure provides conjugates of anyof the foregoing formulas wherein:

-   -   each of        , T, k, q, p, n, m and v is defined as described above and        herein;    -   —B is -T-LRP^(B)—X;    -   each occurrence of X is independently a ligand;    -   each occurrence of LRP^(B) is independently a ligand-receptor        pair which forms a non-covalent bond between T and X with a        dissociation constant in human serum of less than 1 pmol/L;    -   -D is -T-LRP^(D)—W;    -   each occurrence of W is independently a drug; and    -   each occurrence of LRP^(D) is independently a ligand-receptor        pair which forms a non-covalent bond between T and W with a        dissociation constant in human serum of less than 1 pmol/L.

In another aspect, a conjugate of the present disclosure may have thegeneral formula (II):

wherein

, B, T, D, v, m, n, p, and k are as defined and described herein, and jis an integer from 1 to 4 inclusive. Conjugates of formula (II) may havemultiple sites of conjugation of ligand to drug (i.e., where two or moreligands are conjugated to a single drug molecule via different sites onthe drug, e.g., different amino acids in a biomolecular drug). It willbe appreciated that, when q is 1, the subgenera described above (i.e.,formulae (Ia)-(If)) apply to conjugates of formula (II) when j is 1.Likewise, similar subgenera can be contemplated by one skilled in theart for conjugates wherein j is 2, 3, or 4.

For purposes of exemplification and for the avoidance of confusion it isto be understood that an occurrence of:

in a conjugate of formula (II) (i.e., when j is 2) could be representedas:

(when the drug is covalently bound to the conjugate framework) or

(when the drug is non-covalently bound to the conjugate framework).Description of Exemplary Groups

(Node)

In certain embodiments, each occurrence of

is independently an optionally substituted group selected from the groupconsisting of acyl, aliphatic, heteroaliphatic, aryl, heteroaryl, andheterocyclic. In some embodiments, each occurrence of

is the same. In some embodiments, the central

is different from all other occurrences of

. In certain embodiments, all occurrences of

are the same except for the central

.

In some embodiments,

is an optionally substituted aryl or heteroaryl group. In someembodiments,

is 6-membered aryl. In certain embodiments,

is phenyl.

In certain embodiments,

is a heteroatom selected from N, O, or S. In some embodiments,

is nitrogen atom. In some embodiments,

is an oxygen atom. In some embodiments,

is sulfur atom. In some embodiments,

is a carbon atom.

T (Spacer)

In certain embodiments, each occurrence of T is independently abivalent, straight or branched, saturated or unsaturated, optionallysubstituted C₁₋₂₀ hydrocarbon chain wherein one or more methylene unitsof T are optionally and independently replaced by —O—, —S—, —N(R)—,—C(O)—, —C(O)O—, —OC(O)—, —N(R)C(O)—, —C(O)N(R)—, —S(O)—, —S(O)₂—,—N(R)SO₂—, —SO₂N(R)—, a heterocyclic group, an aryl group, or aheteroaryl group. In certain embodiments, one, two, three, four, or fivemethylene units of T are optionally and independently replaced. Incertain embodiments, T is constructed from a C₁₋₁₀, C₁₋₈, C₁₋₆, C₁₋₄,C₂₋₁₂, C₄₋₁₂, C₆₋₁₂, C₈₋₁₂, or C₁₀₋₁₂ hydrocarbon chain wherein one ormore methylene units of T are optionally and independently replaced by—O—, —S—, —N(R)—, —C(O)—, —C(O)O—, —OC(O)—, —N(R)C(O)—, —C(O)N(R)—,—S(O)—, —S(O)₂—, —N(R)SO₂—, —SO₂N(R)—, a heterocyclic group, an arylgroup, or a heteroaryl group. In some embodiments, one or more methyleneunits of T is replaced by a heterocyclic group. In some embodiments, oneor more methylene units of T is replaced by a triazole moiety. Incertain embodiments, one or more methylene units of T is replaced by—C(O)—. In certain embodiments, one or more methylene units of T isreplaced by —C(O)N(R)—. In certain embodiments, one or more methyleneunits of T is replaced by —O—.

In some embodiments, T is

In some embodiments, T is

In some embodiments, T is

In some embodiments, T is

In some embodiments, T is

In some embodiments, T is

In certain embodiments, each occurrence of T is the same.

In certain embodiments, each occurrence of T (outside groups B and D) isa covalent bond and the conjugate is of the general formula (IV) or (V):

wherein

, B, D, v, m, n, p, k, and j are as defined and described herein.

In certain embodiments of general formulae (IV) and (V), each occurrenceof

except for the central

is a covalent bond, each occurrence of v=1, and the conjugate is of theformula (VI) or (VII):

wherein

, B, D, q, k, and j are as defined and described herein.

In certain such embodiments for formula (VI), k=1 and q=1.

In other embodiments, k=2 and q=1.

In other embodiments, k=3 and q=1.

In other embodiments, k=1 and q=2.

In other embodiments, k=2 and q=2.

In certain such embodiments for formula (VII), k=1 and j=2.

In other embodiments, k=2 and j=2.

In other embodiments, k=3 and j=2.

In other embodiments, k=1 and j=1.

In other embodiments, k=2 and j=1.

In other embodiments, k=3 and j=1.

In other embodiments, k=1 and j=3.

In other embodiments, k=2 and j=3.

In other embodiments, k=3 and j=3.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides conjugates ofgeneral formula (VIa):

wherein B and D are as defined and described herein.

For example, in some embodiments, the present disclosure providesconjugates of formula:

wherein W and X are as defined and described herein.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides conjugates ofgeneral formula (VIb):

wherein B and D are as defined and described herein.

For example, in some embodiments, the present disclosure providesconjugates of formula:

wherein W and X are as defined and described herein.

For example, in some embodiments, the present disclosure providesconjugates of formula:

wherein W and X are as defined and described herein.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides conjugates ofgeneral formula (VIc):

wherein B and D are as defined and described herein.

For example, in some embodiments, the present disclosure providesconjugates of formula:

wherein W and X are as defined and described herein.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides conjugates ofgeneral formula (VId) or (VIe):

wherein B and D are as defined and described herein.

For example, in some embodiments, the present disclosure providesconjugates of formula:

wherein W and X are as defined and described herein.

It will be appreciated that subgenera of formulae (VIa), (VIb), (VIc),(VId), and (VIe) and species thereof, apply to conjugates of formula(VII) wherein j is 1. Likewise, similar subgenera and species can becontemplated by one skilled in the art for conjugates of formula (VII)wherein j is 2, 3, or 4. For example, when j is 2, the presentdisclosure provides conjugates of formula:

wherein B and D are as defined and described herein.In certain embodiments, the present disclosure provides conjugates offormula:

wherein W, X, and j are as defined and described herein.

In another aspect, a conjugate of the present disclosure may have thegeneral formula (VIII):

wherein

, T, D, v, m, and n are as defined and described for conjugates offormula (I), and B is -T-L^(B)-X, wherein each occurrence of X isindependently a ligand that includes a saccharide.

For example, in some embodiments, the present disclosure providesconjugates of formula:

wherein W and X are as defined and described for conjugates of formula(I).

In yet another aspect, the conjugate scaffold is not of formula (I) or(II), but instead is a macrocycle. In some embodiments, the macrocycleis a polyamine macrocycle. For example, in various embodiments, aconjugate of the present disclosure may have the general formula (IX):

wherein D is as defined and described for conjugates of formula (I), andB is -T-L^(B)-X, wherein each occurrence of X is independently a ligandthat includes a saccharide.B (Ligand)

In certain embodiments, —B is -T-L^(B)-X where X is a ligand and L^(B)is a covalent bond or a group derived from the covalent conjugation ofan X with a T. Exemplary ligands and their saccharide components weredescribed above.

D (Drug)

In certain embodiments, -D is -T-L^(D)-W where W is a drug and L^(D) isa covalent bond or a group derived from the covalent conjugation of a Wwith a T. Exemplary drugs were described above.

L^(B) and L^(D) (Covalent Conjugation)

One of ordinary skill will appreciate that a variety of conjugationchemistries may be used to covalently conjugate an X with a T and/or a Wwith a T (generally “components”). Such techniques are widely known inthe art, and exemplary techniques are discussed below. Components can bedirectly bonded (i.e., with no intervening chemical groups) orindirectly bonded through a spacer (e.g., a coupling agent or covalentchain that provides some physical separation between the conjugatedelement and the remainder of the conjugate framework). It is to beunderstood that components may be covalently bound to a conjugateframework through any number of chemical bonds, including but notlimited to amide, amine, ester, ether, thioether, isourea, imine, etc.bonds. In certain embodiments, L^(B) and/or L^(D) (generally “L” for thepurposes of this section) is a covalent bond. In some embodiments, L isan optionally substituted moiety derived from conjugating an optionallysubstituted carbonyl-reactive, thiol-reactive, amine-reactive, orhydroxyl-reactive moiety of T with a carboxyl, thiol, amine, or hydroxylgroup of X or W. In some embodiments, L is an optionally substitutedmoiety derived from conjugating an optionally substitutedcarboxyl-reactive, thiol-reactive, amine-reactive, or hydroxyl-reactivemoiety of X or W with a carboxyl, thiol, amine, or hydroxyl group of T.In some embodiments, L is

In some embodiments, L is a succinimide moiety.

In various embodiments, components may be covalently bound to aconjugate framework using “click chemistry” reactions as is known in theart. These include, for example, cycloaddition reactions, nucleophilicring-opening reactions, and additions to carbon-carbon multiple bonds(e.g., see Kolb and Sharpless, Drug Discovery Today 8:1128-1137, 2003and references cited therein as well as Dondoni, Chem. Asian J.2:700-708, 2007 and references cited therein). As discussed above, invarious embodiments, the components may be bound to a conjugateframework via natural or chemically added pendant groups. In general, itwill be appreciated that the first and second members of a pair ofreactive groups (e.g., a carboxyl group and an amine group which reactto produce an amide bond) can be present on either one of the componentand framework (i.e., the relative location of the two members isirrelevant as long as they react to produce a conjugate). Exemplarylinkages are discussed in more detail below.

In various embodiments, carboxyl (or reactive ester) bearing componentscan be conjugated to —OH bearing frameworks (OBFs) using the procedureoutlined by Kim et al., Biomaterials 24:4843-4851 (2003). Briefly, theOBF is dissolved in DMSO along with the carboxyl bearing component andreacted by means of N′,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) and4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) as catalysts under a dry atmosphere.Carboxyl bearing components can be conjugated to —NH₂ bearing frameworks(NBFs) using a carbodiimide (EDAC) coupling procedure. Using thisprocedure, the carboxyl bearing component is functionalized by reactionwith EDAC in a pH 5 buffer followed by the addition of the NBF. Ineither of these cases (and in any of the following cases), the resultingproducts may be purified by any number of means available to thoseskilled in the art including, but not limited to, size exclusionchromatography, reversed phase chromatography, silica gelchromatography, ion exchange chromatography, ultrafiltration, andselective precipitation.

In various embodiments, amine bearing components can be coupled to —COOHbearing frameworks (CBFs). CBFs using activated ester moieties (e.g.,see Hermanson in Bioconjugate Techniques, 2^(nd) edition, AcademicPress, 2008 and references cited therein). Briefly, a CBF with terminalactivated carboxylic acid esters such as —NHS, —SSC, —NPC, etc. isdissolved in an anhydrous organic solvent such as DMSO or DMF. Thedesired number of equivalents of amine bearing component are then addedand mixed for several hours at room temperature. Amine bearingcomponents can also be conjugated to CBFs to produce a stable amide bondas described by Baudys et al., Bioconj. Chem. 9:176-183, 1998. Thisreaction can be achieved by adding tributylamine (TBA) andisobutylchloroformate to a solution of the CBF and an amine bearingcomponent in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) under anhydrous conditions. Aminebearing components can alternatively be coupled to OBFs throughcyanalation using reagents including, but not limited to, cyanogenbromide (CNBr), N-cyanotriethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (CTEA),1-Cyano-4-(Dimethylamino)-pyridinium tetrafluorborate (CDAP), andp-nitrophenylcyanate (pNPC). CNBr reactions can be carried out at mildlybasic pH in aqueous solution. CDAP reactions are carried out in amixture of DMSO and water at mildly basic pH using triethylamine (TEA)as a catalyst. In certain embodiments, amine bearing components can beconjugated to NBFs, e.g., through glutaraldehyde coupling in aqueousbuffered solutions containing pyridine followed by quenching withglycine. In certain embodiments, amine bearing components can beconjugated to aldehyde bearing frameworks using a Schiff Base couplingprocedure followed by reduction (e.g., see see Hermanson in BioconjugateTechniques, 2^(nd) edition, Academic Press, 2008 and references citedtherein as well as Mei et al. in Pharm. Res. 16: 1680-1686, 1999 andreferences cited therein). Briefly, a framework with terminal activatedaldehydes (e.g., acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, etc.) isdissolved in an aqueous buffer with the pH at or below neutral toprevent unwanted aldehyde hydrolysis. The desired number of equivalentsof an amine bearing component are then added and mixed at roomtemperature followed by addition of an excess of suitable reducing agent(e.g., sodium borohydride, sodium cyanobrohydride, sodiumtriacetoxyborohydride pyridine borane, triethylamine borane, etc.).

In various embodiments, hydroxyl bearing components can be conjugated toOBFs according to the divinylsulfone (DVS) procedure. Using thisprocedure, the OBF is added to a pH 11.4 bicarbonate buffer andactivated with DVS followed by addition of a hydroxyl bearing componentafter which glycine is added to neutralize and quench the reaction.Hydroxyl bearing components may also be coupled to OBFs using activatedester moieties as described above to produce ester bonds.

In various embodiments, sulfhydryl bearing components can be coupled tomaleimide bearing frameworks (MBFs) using a relatively mild procedure toproduce thioether bonds (e.g., see Hermanson in Bioconjugate Techniques,2^(nd) edition, Academic Press, 2008 and references cited therein).Because the maleimide group is much less susceptible to hydrolysis thanactivated esters, the reaction can be carried out under aqueousconditions. Briefly, an MBF is dissolved in a buffered aqueous solutionat pH 6.5-7.5 followed by the desired number of equivalents ofsulfhydryl bearing component. After mixing at room temperature forseveral hours, the thioether coupled conjugate may be purified.Sulfhydryl bearing components can also be conjugated to NBFs accordingto a method described by Thoma et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 121:5919-5929,1999. This reaction involves suspending the NBF in anhydrousdimethylformamide (DMF) followed by the addition of 2,6-lutidine andacid anhydride and subsequent purification of the reactive intermediate.A sulfhydryl bearing component is then added to a solution of theintermediate in DMF with triethylamine.

In various embodiments, azide bearing components can be coupled to analkyne bearing framework (ABF) using the copper(I)-catalyzed modemversion of the Huisgen-type azide-alkyne cycloaddition to give a1,4-di-substituted 1,2,3-triazole (e.g., see Dondoni, Chem. Asian J.2:700-708, 2007 and references cited therein as well as Dedola et al.,Org. Biomol. Chem. 5: 1006-1017, 2007). This reaction, commonly referredto as a “click” reaction, may be carried out for example in neat THFusing N,N-diisopropylethylamine and Cu(PPh₃)₃Br as the catalyst system(e.g., see Wu et al., Chem. Commun. 5775-5777, 2005). The reaction mayalso be carried out in a 3:1 (THF:water) mixture using sodium ascorbateand CuSO₄.5H₂O as the catalyst system (e.g., see Wu et al., supra). Ineither case, the azide bearing component is added to the ABF at thedesired number of equivalents followed by mixing for 12-48 hours at roomtemperature. Alternatively, alkyne bearing components may be conjugatedto an azide bearing framework using exactly the same conditionsdescribed above.

Certain components may naturally possess more than one of the samechemically reactive moiety. In some examples, it is possible to choosethe chemical reaction type and conditions to selectively react thecomponent at only one of those sites. For example, in the case whereinsulin is conjugated through reactive amines, in certain embodiments,the N-terminal α-Phe-B1 is a preferred site of attachment over theN-terminal α-Gly-A1 and ε-Lys-B29 to preserve insulin bioactivity (e.g.,see Mei et al., Pharm. Res. 16: 1680-1686, 1999 and references citedtherein as well as Tsai et al., J. Pharm. Sci. 86: 1264-1268, 1997). Inan exemplary reaction between insulin with hexadecenal (analdehyde-terminated molecule), researchers found that mixing the twocomponents overnight in a 1.5M pH 6.8 sodium salicylate aqueous solutioncontaining 54% isopropanol at a ratio of 1:6 (insulin:aldehyde mol/mol)in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride resulted in over 80%conversion to the single-substituted Phe-B1 secondary amine-conjugatedproduct (Mei et al., Pharm. Res. 16:1680-1686, 1999). Their studiesshowed that the choice of solvent, pH, and insulin:aldehyde ratio allaffected the selectivity and yield of the reaction. In most cases,however, achieving selectivity through choice of chemical reactionconditions is difficult. Therefore, in certain embodiments it may beadvantageous to selectively protect the component (e.g., insulin) at allsites other than the one desired for reaction followed by a deprotectionstep after the material has been reacted and purified. For example,there are numerous examples of selective protection of insulin aminegroups available in the literature including those that may bedeprotected under acidic (BOC), slightly acidic (citraconic anhydride),and basic (MSC) conditions (e.g., see Tsai et al., J. Pharm. Sci. 86:1264-1268, 1997; Dixon et al., Biochem. J. 109: 312-314, 1968; andSchuettler et al., D. Brandenburg Hoppe Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 360:1721, 1979). In one example, the Gly-A1 and Lys-B29 amines may beselectively protected with tert-butoxycarbonyl (BOC) groups which arethen removed after conjugation by incubation for one hour at 4 C in a90% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)/10% anisole solution. In one embodiment,a dry powder of insulin is dissolved in anhydrous DMSO followed by anexcess of triethylamine. To this solution, approximately two equivalentsof di-tert-butyl dicarbonate solution in THF are added slowly and thesolution allowed to mix for 30-60 minutes. After reaction, the crudesolution is poured in an excess of acetone followed by dropwise additionof dilute HCl to precipitate the reacted insulin. The precipitatedmaterial is centrifuged, washed with acetone and dried completely undervacuum. The desired di-BOC protected product may be separated fromunreacted insulin, undesired di-BOC isomers, and mono-BOC and tri-BOCbyproducts using preparative reverse phase HPLC or ion exchangechromatography (e.g., see Tsai et al., J. Pharm. Sci. 86: 1264-1268,1997). In the case of reverse phase HPLC, a solution of the crudeproduct in 70% water/30% acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA is loaded ontoa C8 column and eluted with an increasing acetonitrile gradient. Thedesired di-BOC peak is collected, rotovapped to remove acetonitrile, andlyophilized to obtain the pure product.

LRP^(B) and LRP^(D) (Non-Covalent Conjugation)

One of ordinary skill will appreciate that a variety of conjugationchemistries may be used to non-covalently conjugate an X with a T and/orW with a T (generally “components”). Such techniques are widely known inthe art, and exemplary techniques are discussed below. In certainembodiments, the dissociation constant (K_(d)) of the non-covalentlinkage in human serum is less than 1 pmol/L. For example, a componentmay be non-covalently bound to a conjugate framework via a non-covalentligand-receptor pair as is well known in the art (e.g., withoutlimitation a biotin-avidin based pair). In such an embodiment, onemember of the ligand receptor-pair is covalently bound to the componentwhile the other member of the pair is covalently bound to the conjugateframework. When the component and conjugate framework are combined, thestrong non-covalent interaction between the ligand and its receptorcauses the component to become non-covalently bound to the conjugateframework. Typical ligand/receptor pairs include protein/co-factor andenzyme/substrate pairs. Besides the commonly used biotin/avidin pair,these include without limitation, biotin/streptavidin,digoxigenin/anti-digoxigenin, FK506/FK506-binding protein (FKBP),rapamycin/FKBP, cyclophilin/cyclosporin and glutathione/glutathionetransferase pairs. Other suitable ligand/receptor pairs would berecognized by those skilled in the art, e.g., monoclonal antibodiespaired with a epitope tag such as, without limitation,glutathione-5-transferase (GST), c-myc, FLAG® and further thosedescribed in Kessler pp. 105-152 of Advances in Mutagenesis” Ed. byKessler, Springer-Verlag, 1990; “Affinity Chromatography: Methods andProtocols (Methods in Molecular Biology)” Ed. by Pascal Baillon, HumanaPress, 2000; and “Immobilized Affinity Ligand Techniques” by Hermansonet al., Academic Press, 1992.

k and q

k is an integer from 1 to 12, inclusive. In certain embodiments, k=1 to6, e.g., 1, 2, or 3. q is an integer from 1 to 4, inclusive, and definesthe number of D groups which are bound to the central

group. In certain embodiments, q=1. In some embodiments, q=2. In certainembodiments, k+q is an integer from 2 to 6, inclusive. In certainembodiments, k+q=2, 3 or 4.

p and m

Each occurrence of p is independently an integer from 1 to 5, inclusive.In certain embodiments, each occurrence of p is the same. In certainembodiments, p=1, 2 or 3. In certain embodiments, p=1.

Each occurrence of m is independently an integer from 1 to 5, inclusive.In certain embodiments, each occurrence of m is the same. In certainembodiments, m=1, 2 or 3. In certain embodiments, m=1.

n and v

Each occurrence of n is independently an integer from 0 to 5, inclusive,with the proviso that within each k-branch at least one occurrence of nis ≧1. Branches within a given k-branch are referred to herein asn-branches.

In certain embodiments, each occurrence of

in a p-bracketed moiety is substituted by a number of n-bracketedmoieties corresponding to a value of n≧1, e.g., see formula (Ia) above.In some such embodiments, each occurrence of n in the conjugate is thesame. In some of these embodiments, n=1 or 2.

In other embodiments, only terminal occurrences of

in a p-bracketed moiety are substituted by a number of n-bracketedmoieties corresponding to a value of n≧1, e.g., see formula (Ib) above.In certain embodiments, each k-branch includes just one occurrence ofn≧1 (i.e., all other occurrences of n=0). In some such embodiments, eachoccurrence of n in the conjugate is the same. In some of theseembodiments, n=1 or 2.

Each occurrence of v is independently an integer from 0 to 5, inclusive,with the proviso that within each k-branch at least one occurrence of vis ≧1.

In certain embodiments, each occurrence of

in an in-bracketed moiety is substituted by a number of B moietiescorresponding to the value of v≧1, e.g., see formula (Ic) above. In somesuch embodiments, each occurrence of v in the conjugate is the same. Insome of these embodiments, v=1 or 2.

In other embodiments, only terminal occurrences of

in an m-bracketed moiety are substituted by a number of B moietiescorresponding to a value of v≧1, e.g., see formula (Id) above. Incertain embodiments, each k-branch includes just one occurrence of v≧1(i.e., all other occurrences of v=0). In some such embodiments, eachoccurrence of v in the conjugate is the same. In some of theseembodiments, v=1 or 2. In certain embodiments, each n-branch includes atleast one occurrence of v≧1. In certain embodiment, each n-branchincludes just one occurrence of v≧1 (i.e., all other occurrences ofv=0). In some such embodiments, each occurrence of v in the conjugate isthe same. In some of these embodiments, v=1 or 2.

j

j of formula (II) is an integer from 1 to 4, inclusive, and defines thenumber of conjugations to the D group. In certain embodiments, j=1. Incertain embodiments, j=2. In some embodiments, j=3. In otherembodiments, j=4.

Drug Loading

In general, the amount of drug that is loaded onto a conjugate can becontrolled by adjusting the molecular weight of the conjugate frameworkand/or the level of chemical activation (i.e., when pendant groups areadded to the framework). In various embodiments, the drug loading levelmay be in the range of 5 to 99% w/w of drug to conjugate. In variousembodiments, loading levels within the narrower range of 50 to 99% maybe used, e.g., in the range of 80 to 99%.

Other

It is to be understood that while the preceding sections describecomponents of the conjugates (e.g., ligand, drug, framework) underseparate headings, the present disclosure encompasses conjugates thatare comprised of any and all of the disclosed ligands, drugs andframeworks.

Intermediates for Preparing Conjugates

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides reagents for preparingconjugates. Thus, in various embodiments, a compound of general formula(I) is provided wherein:

-   -   each of        , T, D, k, q, k+q, p, n, m and v is defined as described above        and herein;    -   —B is -T-L^(B′); and    -   each occurrence of L^(B′) is independently hydrogen, an        alkyne-containing moiety, an azide-containing moiety, or an        optionally substituted carbonyl-reactive, thiol-reactive,        amine-reactive, or hydroxyl-reactive moiety.

In other embodiments, a compound of general formula (I) is providedwherein:

-   -   each of        , T, B, k, q, k+q, p, n, m and v is defined as described above        and herein;    -   -D is -T-L^(D′); and    -   each occurrence of L^(D′) is independently hydrogen, an        alkyne-containing moiety, an azide-containing moiety, or an        optionally substituted carbonyl-reactive, thiol-reactive,        amine-reactive, or hydroxyl-reactive moiety.        Methods for Preparing Conjugates

As described in the Examples, we have exemplified methods for preparingthe aforementioned conjugates using insulin as an exemplary drug andaminoethylglucose (AEG), aminoethylmannose (AEM), aminoethylbimannose(AEBM), aminoethyltrimannose (AETM), aminoethylfucose (AEF), and/orβ-aminoethyl-N-acetylglucosamine (AEGA) as exemplary ligands. Withoutlimitation, conjugates with two ligands per conjugation site and withshort distances between all framework components may be prepared usingtris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris), tris-succinimidylaminotriacetate (TSAT), tris-succinimidyl-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate(TSB), and benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxy-(N-4-butyric-NHS-ester)amide(TSB-C4) as conjugate frameworks. If more space between frameworkcomponents is desired, then succinimidyl(6-aminocaproyl)aminotriacetate(TSAT-C6), succinimidyl(6-amino(PEO-6))aminotriacetate (TSAT-PEO-6),benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxy-(N-6-aminocaproic-NHS ester)amide (TSB-C6), andbenzene-1,3,5-tricarboxy-(N-10-aminodecanoic-NHS ester)amide (TSB-C10)may be used. The TSAT-C6 spacer arm chemistry imparts more hydrophobiccharacter to the conjugate as compared to TSAT-PEO-6.

For example, for purposes of illustration, in one embodiment, both theligand (e.g., AEG, AEM, AEMB and AETM) and insulin may be reacted to aTSAT-C6 framework through the terminal activated esters to produceinsulin-TSAT-C6-AEG-2, insulin-TSAT-C6-AEM-2, insulin-TSAT-C6-AEMB-2,and insulin-TSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugates. The various ligands aresynthesized ahead of time as discussed in the Examples. In someembodiments, the A1 and B29 amino groups of insulin are BOC-protected asdescribed in the Examples so that each insulin can only react at thePhe-B1 α-amino group. In some embodiments, the B1 and B29 amino groupsof insulin are BOC-protected as described in the Examples so that eachinsulin can only react at the Gly-A1 α-amino group. Approximately oneequivalent of BOC-insulin as a 40-50 mg/ml solution in DMSO is added atroom temperature to a 50 mg/ml solution of TSAT-C6 in DMSO containingexcess triethylamine and allowed to react for approximately one hour.Next, an excess of AEG, AEM, AEBM, and/or AETM (2-10 equivalents) as a100 mg/ml solution in DMSO is added and allowed to react for anadditional 2 hours. After reaction, the DMSO solution is superdiluted by10× into a pH 5 saline buffer after which the pH is adjusted to 8.0 andthe solution passed through a Biogel P2 column to remove low molecularreactants and salts. The material eluting in the void fraction isconcentrated using a 3K ultrafiltration apparatus after which it isinjected on a prep scale reverse phase HPLC column (C8,acetonitrile/water mobile phase containing 0.1% TFA) to purify thedesired product from unreacted BOC2-insulin. The desired elution peak iscollected pooled and rotovapped to remove acetonitrile followed bylyophilization to obtain a dry powder. Finally, the BOC protectinggroups are removed by dissolving the lyophilized powder in 90% TFA/10%anisole for one hour at 4 C followed by 10× superdilution in HEPES pH8.2 buffer containing 0.150 M NaCl. The pH is adjusted to between 7.0and 8.0 using NaOH solution after which the material is passed through aBiogel P2 column to remove anisole, BOC, and any other contaminatingsalts. The deprotected, purified aqueous conjugate solution is thenconcentrated to the desired level and stored at 4 C until needed.

In another aspect, reaction may take place at the B29 epsilon-aminogroup using unprotected insulin in carbonate buffer, since under thoseconditions the B29 amino group is the most reactive of the three aminogroups present in wild-type insulin. In an exemplary synthesis, theframework containing N-terminal activated esters is dissolved at 60 mMin anhydrous DMSO followed by the addition of triethylamine (TEA). Thesolution is stirred rapidly for 10 minutes at room temperature. Inparallel, a 448 mM solution of ligand is prepared in an appropriatevolume of anhydrous DMSO. Once dissolved, enough ligand solution isadded dropwise over the course of ten minutes to provide a number ofreactive equivalents equal to 1.5 times the number of activated estergroups on the framework, N, minus one. For example, if there are N=3initial activated ester groups per framework, then (3×(3−1)×60 mM/370mM)=0.973 ml of ligand solution are added. If there are N=4 initialactivated ester groups per framework, then (3×(4−1)×60 mM/370 mM)=1.46ml of ligand solution are added, and so on. After the ligand solution isadded, the solution is stirred for one hour at room temperature.

The amine-bearing drug is then dissolved separately at 17.2 mM in sodiumcarbonate buffer (0.1 M, pH 11) and the pH subsequently adjusted to 10.8with 1.0 N sodium hydroxide. Once dissolved, the entireframework/DMSO/ligand/TEA solution is added dropwise over the course of75 minutes to the drug/carbonate buffer solution. During the addition,the pH of the resulting mixture is adjusted every 5 minutes to 10.8 ifnecessary using dilute HCl or NaOH. The solution is allowed to stir foran additional 15 minutes after the dropwise addition to ensure completereaction.

The resulting solution is then superdiluted by 10× into a 20 mM pH 5.0HEPES buffered saline solution containing 0.150 M NaCl followed by pHadjustment with dilute HCl to a final pH of 8.0. The aqueous solution isfirst purified by size exclusion using an appropriate solid phase forthe desired separation of conjugated and unconjugated materials. Thesolution passing through the column void volume is then concentratedusing an appropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane to approximately40 ml. This solution is further purified to obtain the desired productusing preparative reverse phase HPLC. Once collected, the solution isrotovapped to remove acetonitrile and lyophilized to obtain pureconjugate.

Furthermore, under the carbonate buffer conditions, the A1 amino groupis the second most reactive amino group of wild-type insulin. Thus, incertain embodiments, A1,B29-disubstituted insulin-conjugates aresynthesized using the conditions described above with approximately tentimes the amount of multivalent active ester framework and ligand perinsulin molecule compared to the B29-monosubstituted insulin-conjugatesynthesis.

In another aspect, B29-monosubstituted insulin-conjugates aresynthesized using N-terminal protecting amino acid sequences usingsimilar methods to those reported in U.S. Pat. No. 7,402,565.Specifically, N-terminal peptide sequences are engineered onto theinsulin A-chain and B-chain such that the protecting amino acidsequences contain Arg^(A0) and Arg^(B0) to give an insulin intermediate.Conjugation takes places at Lys^(B29) on the insulin intermediate, whilethe N-termini are protected from conjugation side-products. Theconjugated insulin intermediate is treated with trypsin to cleave theN-terminal protecting amino acid sequences to give an insulin-conjugatewherein solely Lys^(B29) is conjugated. In some embodiments, the insulinintermediate is derived from a single chain insulin precursor asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,402,565. In some embodiments, the insulinintermediate is a mutant that contains a conjugation site other thanLys^(B29) and an analogous synthesis to the one described for Lys^(B29)is performed.

It will be appreciated that these exemplary procedures may be used toproduce other conjugates with different ligands and drugs, differentconjugation chemistries, different separations between frameworkcomponents, and/or different valencies by substituting the TSAT-C6framework with a different framework as described below.

For example, if yet more distance is required between frameworkcomponents and/or a preserved charge is required at the site ofconjugation, then an appropriately-sized amine-bearing diethyl acetal(e.g., aminopropionaldehyde diethyl acetal (APDA) or aminobutyraldehydediethyl acetal (ABDA)) may be conjugated to one of the reactive groupson the frameworks listed here followed by complete reaction of theremaining reactive groups with the ligand of interest (e.g., AEM, AEBM,or AETM). A reactive aldehyde group can then be revealed from thediethyl acetal under acidic conditions followed by a reductive aminationwith insulin to complete the drug conjugation step then ABDA-TSAT,ABDA-LCTSAT, etc. may be employed.

In yet another example, tetrakis-(N-succinimidylcarboxypropyl)pentaerythritol (TSPE), may be used to attach threeligands per conjugation site for increased multivalency. It will also beappreciated by those skilled in the art that any of the above teachingsmay be used to produce hyperbranched (e.g., dendrimer-like) conjugateswith even higher order valencies. For example, Rockendorf and Lindhorstprovide a comprehensive review of current approaches for producinghyperbranched structures in Topics in Current Chemistry. 217: 202-238,2001.

Furthermore, ligands already containing a predetermined degree ofmultivalency may again be reacted according to the procedures describedabove to produce even higher orders of ligand multiplicity. For example,a divalent AEM-2, AEBM-2, or AETM-2 molecule containing a terminalreactive amine may be prepared by conjugating two of each ligand to asuitable framework to which a reactive amine is also conjugated. Atrivalent AEM-3, AEBM-3, or AETM-3 molecule containing a terminalreactive amine may be prepared by conjugating three of each ligand to asuitable framework to which a reactive amine is also conjugated. TheNH₂-divalent saccharides may be reacted with the same frameworksdescribed above to produce drug conjugates with 4 and 6 ligands per drugmolecule. The NH₂-trivalent saccharides may be reacted with the sameframeworks described above to produce drug conjugates with 6 and 9ligands per drug molecule.

In all cases, it should be recognized that a mixture of differentligands may be conjugated to the same drug via a multivalent frameworkby adjusting the framework chemistry, valency, and the ligand:frameworkstoichiometry. For example, Insulin-AEM-1-AEBM-1, Insulin-AEBM-1-AETM-1,Insulin-AEM-2-AETM-2, and Insulin-AEM-1-AETM-2 may all be synthesizedaccording to this mixed ligand method.

In some cases, it may be desirable to conjugate the ligand to theframework through a different means than the drug. For example, adivalent maleimide/monovalent activate ester functionalized framework(e.g., succinimidyl-3,5-dimaleimidophenyl benzoate (SDMB)) may be usedto conjugate two sulfhydryl functionalized ligands and oneamine-functionalized drug in separate steps. For example, insulin oranother amine-containing drug may be conjugated to the activated esterportion of the framework using methods described herein. In a separatestep, the aminoethyl saccharide (AEM, AEBM, AETM) may be converted to aterminal sulfhydryl-bearing ligand by reaction with 4-iminothiolane.Finally, the framework-di-maleimide-insulin conjugate may be mixed withan excess of sulfhydryl-functionalized saccharide to produce theresulting divalent-ligand-insulin conjugate.

Sustained Release Formulations

As discussed in the Examples, in certain embodiments it may beadvantageous to administer a conjugate in a sustained fashion (i.e., ina form that exhibits an absorption profile that is more sustained thansoluble recombinant human insulin). This will provide a sustained levelof conjugate that can respond to fluctuations in glucose on a timescalethat it more closely related to the typical glucose fluctuationtimescale (i.e., hours rather than minutes). In certain embodiments, thesustained release formulation may exhibit a zero-order release of theconjugate when administered to a mammal under non-hyperglycemicconditions (i.e., fasted conditions).

It will be appreciated that any formulation that provides a sustainedabsorption profile may be used. In certain embodiments this may beachieved by combining the conjugate with other ingredients that slow itsrelease properties into systemic circulation.

For example, PZI (protamine zinc insulin) formulations may be used forthis purpose. As described in the Examples, we have found that incertain embodiments the absorption profile and stability of PZIformulations prepared with conjugates of the present disclosure aresensitive to the absolute and relative amounts of protamine and zincincluded in the formulation. For example, whereas commercial PZI and NPH(neutral protamine Hagedorn) insulin formulations require only about0.05 to about 0.2 mg protamine/mg insulin, some PZI-conjugatepreparations required about 1 to about 5 mg protamine/mg conjugate inorder to effectively sustain the absorption profile. Furthermore, whilecommercial protamine insulin preparations contain about 0.006 mg zinc/mginsulin, we have found that increasing the zinc concentration along withthe protamine concentration can, in certain embodiments, lead to morestable, easily dispersible formulations. In some cases, the zinc contentis in the range of about 0.05 to about 0.5 mg zinc/mg conjugate.Furthermore, we have also unexpectedly found that in certainembodiments, insulin conjugates substituted at the B1-amine grouprequire more protamine and zinc to effectively sustain the releaseprofile versus an insulin conjugate substituted at the B29-amine group.The present disclosure encompasses amorphous and crystalline forms ofthese PZI formulations.

Thus, in certain embodiments, a formulation of the present disclosureincludes from about 0.05 to about 10 mg protamine/mg conjugate. Forexample, from about 0.2 to about 10 mg protamine/mg conjugate, e.g.,about 1 to about 5 mg protamine/mg conjugate.

In certain embodiments, a formulation of the present disclosure includesfrom about 0.006 to about 0.5 mg zinc/mg conjugate. For example, fromabout 0.05 to about 0.5 mg zinc/mg conjugate, e.g., about 0.1 to about0.25 mg zinc/mg conjugate.

In certain embodiments, a formulation of the present disclosure includesprotamine and zinc in a ratio (w/w) in the range of about 100:1 to about5:1, for example, from about 50:1 to about 5:1, e.g., about 40:1 toabout 10:1. In certain embodiments, a PZI formulation of the presentdisclosure includes protamine and zinc in a ratio (w/w) in the range ofabout 20:1 to about 5:1, for example, about 20:1 to about 10:1, about20:1 to about 15:1, about 15:1 to about 5:1, about 10:1 to about 5:1,about 10:1 to about 15:1.

The Examples also describe the benefits of including one or more of thefollowing components in a PZI formulation: an antimicrobialpreservative, an isotonic agent, and/or an unconjugated insulinmolecule.

In certain embodiments a formulation of the present disclosure includesan antimicrobial preservative (e.g., m-cresol, phenol, methylparaben, orpropylparaben). In certain embodiments the antimicrobial preservative ism-cresol. For example, in certain embodiments, a formulation may includefrom about 0.1 to about 1.0% v/v m-cresol. For example, from about 0.1to about 0.5% v/v m-cresol, e.g., about 0.15 to about 0.35% v/vm-cresol.

In certain embodiments a formulation of the present disclosure includesa polyol as isotonic agent (e.g., mannitol, propylene glycol orglycerol). In certain embodiments the isotonic agent is glycerol. Incertain embodiments, the isotonic agent is a salt, e.g., NaCl. Forexample, a formulation may comprise from about 0.05 to about 0.5 M NaCl,e.g., from about 0.05 to about 0.25 M NaCl or from about 0.1 to about0.2 M NaCl.

In certain embodiments a formulation of the present disclosure includesan amount of unconjugated insulin molecule. In certain embodiments, aformulation includes a molar ratio of conjugated insulin molecule tounconjugated insulin molecule in the range of about 100:1 to 1:1, e.g.,about 50:1 to 2:1 or about 25:1 to 2:1.

The present disclosure also encompasses the use of standard sustained(also called extended) release formulations that are well known in theart of small molecule formulation (e.g., see Remington's PharmaceuticalSciences, 19^(th) ed., Mack Publishing Co., Easton, Pa., 1995).

The present disclosure also encompasses the use of devices that rely onpumps or hindered diffusion to deliver a conjugate on a gradual basis.In certain embodiments, a long acting formulation may (additionally oralternatively) be provided by using a modified insulin molecule. Forexample, one could use insulin glargine (LANTUS®) or insulin detemir(LEVEMIR®) instead of wild-type human insulin in preparing theconjugate. Insulin glargine is an exemplary long acting insulin analogin which Asp-A21 has been replaced by glycine, and two arginines havebeen added to the C-terminus of the B-chain. The effect of these changesis to shift the isoelectric point, producing a solution that iscompletely soluble at pH 4. Insulin detemir is another long actinginsulin analog in which Thr-B30 has been deleted, and a C14 fatty acidchain has been attached to Lys-B29.

Uses of Conjugates

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides methods of usingconjugates. In general, the conjugates can be used to controllablyprovide a bioactive drug in response to a saccharide (e.g., glucose oran exogenous saccharide such as mannose, alpha-methyl mannose, L-fucose,etc. as described herein). The disclosure encompasses treating a diseaseor condition by administering a conjugate of the present disclosure.Although the conjugates can be used to treat any patient (e.g., dogs,cats, cows, horses, sheep, pigs, mice, etc.), they are most preferablyused in the treatment of humans. A conjugate can be administered to apatient by any route. In general the most appropriate route ofadministration will depend upon a variety of factors including thenature of the disease or condition being treated, the nature of thedrug, the condition of the patient, etc. In general, the presentdisclosure encompasses administration by oral, intravenous,intramuscular, intra-arterial, subcutaneous, intraventricular,transdermal, rectal, intravaginal, intraperitoneal, topical (as bypowders, ointments, or drops), buccal, or as an oral or nasal spray oraerosol. General considerations in the formulation and manufacture ofpharmaceutical compositions for these different routes may be found, forexample, in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 19^(th) ed., MackPublishing Co., Easton, Pa., 1995. In various embodiments, the conjugatemay be administered subcutaneously, e.g., by injection. The conjugatecan be dissolved in a carrier for ease of delivery. For example, thecarrier can be an aqueous solution including, but not limited to,sterile water, saline or buffered saline.

In general, a therapeutically effective amount of a drug in the form ofa conjugate will be administered. By a “therapeutically effectiveamount” of a drug is meant a sufficient amount of the drug to treat thedisease or condition at a reasonable benefit/risk ratio, which involvesa balancing of the efficacy and toxicity of the drug. In general,therapeutic efficacy and toxicity may be determined by standardpharmacological procedures in cell cultures or with experimentalanimals, e.g., by calculating the ED₅₀ (the dose that is therapeuticallyeffective in 50% of the treated subjects) and the LD₅₀ (the dose that islethal to 50% of treated subjects). The ED₅₀/LD₅₀ represents thetherapeutic index of the drug. Although in general drugs having a largetherapeutic index are preferred, as is well known in the art, a smallertherapeutic index may be acceptable in the case of a serious disease orcondition, particularly in the absence of alternative therapeuticoptions. Ultimate selection of an appropriate range of doses foradministration to humans is determined in the course of clinical trials.

In various embodiments, the drug is insulin and the average daily doseof insulin is in the range of 10 to 200 U, e.g., 25 to 100 U (where 1Unit of insulin is −0.04 mg). In certain embodiments, an amount ofconjugate with these insulin doses is administered on a daily basis. Incertain embodiments, an amount of conjugate with 5 to 10 times theseinsulin doses is administered on a weekly basis. In certain embodiments,an amount of conjugate with 10 to 20 times these insulin doses isadministered on a bi-weekly basis. In certain embodiments, an amount ofconjugate with 20 to 40 times these insulin doses is administered on amonthly basis. Those skilled in the art will recognize that this sameapproach may be extrapolated to other approved drugs with known doseranges, e.g., any of the approved insulin sensitizers and insulinsecretagogues described herein. Typically, the dose of conjugated drugwill be higher than the normal dose of unconjugated drug.

In certain embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure may beused to treat hyperglycemia in a patient (e.g., a mammalian patient). Incertain embodiments, the patient is diabetic. However, the presentmethods are not limited to treating diabetic patients. For example, incertain embodiments, a conjugate may be used to treat hyperglycemia in apatient with an infection associated with impaired glycemic control. Incertain embodiments, a conjugate may be used to treat diabetes.

In certain embodiments, when a conjugate or formulation of the presentdisclosure (with an insulin molecule as the drug) is administered to apatient (e.g., a mammalian patient) it induces less hypoglycemia than anunconjugated version of the insulin molecule. In certain embodiments, aformulation of the present disclosure (with a conjugate that includes aninsulin molecule as the drug) induces a lower HbA1c value in a patient(e.g., a mammalian patient) than a formulation comprising anunconjugated version of the insulin molecule. In certain embodiments,the formulation leads to an HbA1c value that is at least 10% lower(e.g., at least 20% lower, at least 30% lower, at least 40% lower, atleast 50% lower) than a formulation comprising an unconjugated versionof the insulin molecule. In certain embodiments, the formulation leadsto an HbA1c value of less than 7%, e.g., in the range of about 4 toabout 6%. In certain embodiments, a formulation comprising anunconjugated version of the insulin molecule leads to an HbA1c value inexcess of 7%, e.g., about 8 to about 12%.

It will be understood that the total daily usage of a drug for any givenpatient will be decided by the attending physician within the scope ofsound medical judgment. The specific therapeutically effective amountfor any particular patient will depend upon a variety of factorsincluding the disease or condition being treated; the activity of thespecific drug employed; the specific composition employed; the age, bodyweight, general health, sex and diet of the patient; the time ofadministration, route of administration and rate of excretion of thespecific drug employed; the duration of the treatment; drugs used incombination or coincidental with the specific drug employed; and likefactors well known in the medical arts. In various embodiments, aconjugate of the present disclosure may be administered on more than oneoccasion. For example, the present disclosure specifically encompassesmethods in which a conjugate is administered by subcutaneous injectionto a patient on a continuous schedule (e.g., once a day, once every twodays, once a week, once every two weeks, once a month, etc.).

In various embodiments, a conjugate of the present disclosure may beadministered to a patient who is receiving at least one additionaltherapy. In various embodiments, the at least one additional therapy isintended to treat the same disease or disorder as the administeredconjugate.

In various embodiments, the at least one additional therapy is intendedto treat a side-effect of the primary drug. The two or more therapiesmay be administered within the same, overlapping or non-overlappingtimeframes as long as there is a period when the patient is receiving abenefit from both therapies. The two or more therapies may beadministered on the same or different schedules as long as there is aperiod when the patient is receiving a benefit from both therapies. Thetwo or more therapies may be administered within the same or differentformulations as long as there is a period when the patient is receivinga benefit from both therapies. In certain embodiments, a singleconjugate of the present disclosure may include more than one drug fortreating the same disease or disorder. In certain embodiments, two ormore separate conjugates of the present disclosure may be administered(as a mixture or separately) that include different drugs for treatingthe same disease or disorder. In certain embodiments, an unconjugatedsecondary drug may be admixed with a conjugate of the present disclosure(i.e., a drug which is simply mixed with the conjugate formulation andnot covalently bound to the conjugate). For example, in certainembodiments, any of these approaches may be used to administer more thanone anti-diabetic drug to a subject. Certain exemplary embodiments ofthis approach are described in more detail below in the context ofinsulin-related therapies; however, it will be appreciated from theforegoing that other therapies will benefit from such combinationapproaches.

Insulin sensitizers (e.g., biguanides such as metformin, glitazones) actby increasing a patient's response to a given amount of insulin. Apatient receiving an insulin sensitizer will therefore require a lowerdose of an insulin conjugate of the present disclosure than an otherwiseidentical patient would. Thus, in certain embodiments, an insulinconjugate may be administered to a patient who is also being treatedwith an insulin sensitizer. In various embodiments, the conjugate of thepresent disclosure may be administered at up to 75% of the normal doserequired in the absence of the insulin sensitizer. In variousembodiments, up to 50, 40, 30 or 20% of the normal dose may beadministered.

Insulin resistance is a disorder in which normal amounts of insulin areinadequate to produce a normal insulin response. For example,insulin-resistant patients may require high doses of insulin in order toovercome their resistance and provide a sufficient glucose-loweringeffect. In these cases, insulin doses that would normally inducehypoglycemia in less resistant patients fail to even exert aglucose-lowering effect in highly resistant patients. Similarly, theconjugates of the present disclosure are only effective for thissubclass of patients when they provide high levels of bioactive insulinin a suitable timeframe. In certain embodiments, the treatment of thissubclass of patients may be facilitated by combining the two approaches.Thus in certain embodiments, a traditional insulin-based therapy is usedto provide a baseline level of insulin and a conjugate of the presentinvention is administered to provide a controlled supplement ofbioactive insulin when needed by the patient. Thus, in certainembodiments, insulin conjugates may be administered to a patient who isalso being treated with insulin. In various embodiments, the insulin maybe administered at up to 75% of the normal dose required in the absenceof a conjugate of the present disclosure. In various embodiments, up to50, 40, 30 or 20% of the normal dose may be administered. It will beappreciated that this combination approach may also be used with insulinresistant patients who are receiving an insulin secretagogue (e.g., asulfonylurea, GLP-1, exendin-4, etc.) and/or an insulin sensitizer(e.g., a biguanide such as metformin, a glitazone).

Exogenous Trigger

As mentioned previously, the methods, conjugates and compositions thatare described herein are not limited to glucose responsive-conjugates.As demonstrated in the Examples, several exemplary glucose-responsiveconjugates were also responsive to exogenous saccharides such asalpha-methyl mannose and L-fucose. It will therefore be appreciated thatin certain embodiments a conjugate may be triggered by exogenousadministration of a saccharide other than glucose such as alpha-methylmannose and L-fucose or any other saccharide that can alter the PK or PDproperties of the conjugate.

Once a conjugate has been administered as described above (e.g., as asustained release formulation) it can be triggered by administration ofa suitable exogenous saccharide. In a certain embodiment, a triggeringamount of the exogenous saccharide is administered. As used herein, a“triggering amount” of exogenous saccharide is an amount sufficient tocause a change in at least one PK and/or PD property of the conjugate(e.g., C_(max), AUC, half-life, etc. as discussed previously). It is tobe understood that any of the aforementioned methods of administrationfor the conjugate apply equally to the exogenous saccharide. It is alsobe to be understood that the methods of administration for the conjugateand exogenous saccharide may be the same or different. In variousembodiments, the methods of administration are different (e.g., forpurposes of illustration the conjugate may be administered bysubcutaneous injection on a weekly basis while the exogenous saccharideis administered orally on a daily basis). The oral administration of anexogenous saccharide is of particular value since it facilitates patientcompliance. In general, it will be appreciated that the PK and PDproperties of the conjugate will be related to the PK profile of theexogenous saccharide. Thus, the conjugate PK and PD properties can betailored by controlling the PK profile of the exogenous saccharide. Asis well known in the art, the PK profile of the exogenous saccharide canbe tailored based on the dose, route, frequency and formulation used.For example, if a short and intense activation of the conjugate isdesired then an oral immediate release formulation might be used. Incontrast, if a longer less intense activation of conjugate is desiredthen an oral extended release formulation might be used instead. Generalconsiderations in the formulation and manufacture of immediate andextended release formulation may be found, for example, in Remington'sPharmaceutical Sciences, 19^(th) ed., Mack Publishing Co., Easton, Pa.,1995.

It will also be appreciated that the relative frequency ofadministration of a conjugate of the present disclosure and an exogenoussaccharide may be the same or different. In certain embodiments, theexogenous saccharide is administered more frequently than the conjugate.For example, in certain embodiment, the conjugate may be administereddaily while the exogenous saccharide is administered more than once aday. In certain embodiment, the conjugate may be administered twiceweekly, weekly, biweekly or monthly while the exogenous saccharide isadministered daily. In certain embodiments, the conjugate isadministered monthly and the exogenous saccharide is administered twiceweekly, weekly, or biweekly. Other variations on these schemes will berecognized by those skilled in the art and will vary depending on thenature of the conjugate and formulation used.

EXAMPLES

The structures of exemplary conjugates I-1 to I-17 and II-1 to II-7 thatare described and used in the Examples are shown in FIG. 45.

I. Methods of Making Exemplary Conjugates

This first set of examples describes various methods for makingexemplary conjugates. The examples also include assays for purifying andassaying the starting ingredients and final products. It is to beunderstood that these methods can be modified to produce otherconjugates that fall within the scope of the invention.

Example 1 Synthesis of Azidoethylglucose (AzEG)

a. Synthesis of Bromoethyleglucose

DOWEX 50Wx4 resin (Alfa Aesar, Ward Hill, Mass.) was washed withdeionized water to remove color. A mixture of 225 gm D-glucose (1.25mol; 1 equiv., Alfa Aesar) and 140 gm DOWEX 50Wx4 was treated with 2.2 L2-bromoethanol (30.5 mol, 25 equiv.; 124.97 gm/mol; 1.762 gm/mL; BP=150C; Alfa Aesar) and the stirred mixture heated to 80 C for 4 hours. Thereaction was monitored by TLC (20% methanol/dichloromethane (DCM)).Reaction was complete after about four hours, and it was allowed to coolto room temperature. The solution was filtered to remove the resin, andthe resin washed with ethyl acetate and DCM. The resulting filtrate wasstripped to an amber oil in a rotory evaporator. A total of 400 gm afterstripping.

The amber oil was purified on silica gel (4 kg silica packed in DCM) inthe following manner. The crude was dissolved in DCM and loaded onto thecolumn, and then eluted with 2×4 L 10% methanol/DCM; 2×4 L 15%methanol/DCM; and 3×4 L 20% methanol/DCM. Product containing fractions(on the basis of TLC) were pooled and stripped to dryness to afford 152gm of 1-α-bromoethyl-glucose (42%).

b. Conversion of Bromoethylglucose to Azidoethylglucose (AzEM)

A 5 L round bottom three-necked flask, equipped with a heating mantle,an overhead stirrer, and a thermometer, was charged with 150 gmbromoethylglucose (525 mmol). The oil was dissolved in 2 L water andtreated with 68.3 gm sodium azide (1.05 mol, 2 equiv.; 65 gm/mol;Alfa-Aesar) followed by 7.9 gm sodium iodide (52.5 mmol, 0.08 equiv.;149.89 gm/mol; Alfa-Aesar) and the solution warmed to 50 C and stirredovernight. The solution was cooled to room temperature and concentratedto dryness on the rotovap. The solid residue was digested with 3×500 mLof 5:1 vol. CHCl₃:MeOH at 40 C. The combined organic portions werefiltered and evaporated to dryness to afford azidoethylglucose (86 gm)as an off-white solid. TLC (20% MeOH/DCM; char with H₂SO₄): single spot,indistinguishable from the starting material.

c. Repurification of Azidoethylglucose

32 gm of azidoethylglucose was taken into 100 mL water. The turbidsolution was filtered through a glass microfibre filter (Whatman GF/B).The golden filtrate was evaporated to a solid on a rotovapor. The solidwas taken into methanol (100 mL) and the turbid solution was againfiltered through a glass microfibre filter. The resulting pale yellowfiltrate was stripped to a solid under vacuum.

The solid was taken into a minimum of methanol (50 mL) and ethyl acetate(150 mL) was added slowly with stirring. The heavy slurry was cooled andfiltered. The solid was air dried (hygroscopic) and put in a 60 C ovenovernight. TLC has very little origin material. Yield 15.4 gm. TheMother Liquor was evaporated under vacuum to a yellow gum. No attemptwas made to further purify this material at this time.

Example 2 Synthesis of Azidoethylmannose (AzEM)

a. Synthesis of Bromoethylmannose

DOWEX 50Wx4 resin (Alfa Aesar, Ward Hill, Mass.) is washed withdeionized water to remove color. A mixture of 225 gm D-mannose (1.25mol; 1 equiv., Alfa Aesar) and 140 gm DOWEX 50Wx4 is treated with 2.2 L2-bromoethanol (30.5 mol, 25 equiv.; 124.97 gm/mol; 1.762 gm/mL; BP=150C; Alfa Aesar) and the stirred mixture heated to 80 C for 4 hours. Thereaction is monitored by TLC (20% methanol/dichloromethane (DCM)).Reaction is complete after about four hours, and then allowed to cool toroom temperature. The solution is filtered to remove the resin, and theresin washed with ethyl acetate and DCM. The resulting filtrate isstripped to an amber oil in a rotory evaporator.

The amber oil is purified on silica gel (4 kg silica packed in DCM) inthe following manner. The crude is dissolved in DCM and loaded onto thecolumn, and then eluted with 2×4 L 10% methanol/DCM; 2×4 L 15%methanol/DCM; and 3×4 L 20% methanol/DCM. Product containing fractions(on the basis of TLC) are pooled and stripped to dryness to afford 152gm of 1-α-bromoethyl-mannose (42%).

b. Conversion of Bromoethylmannose to Azidoethylmannose (AzEM)

A 5 L round bottom three-necked flask, equipped with a heating mantle,an overhead stirrer, and a thermometer, is charged with 150 gmbromoethylmannose (525 mmol). The oil is dissolved in 2 L water andtreated with 68.3 gm sodium azide (1.05 mol, 2 equiv.; 65 gm/mol;Alfa-Aesar) followed by 7.9 gm sodium iodide (52.5 mmol, 0.08 equiv.;149.89 gm/mol; Alfa-Aesar) and the solution warmed to 50 C and stirredovernight. The solution is cooled to room temperature and concentratedto dryness on the rotovap. The solid residue is digested with 3×500 mLof 5:1 vol. CHCl₃:MeOH at 40 C. The combined organic portions arefiltered and evaporated to dryness to afford azidoethylmannose as anoff-white solid.

c. Repurification of Azidoethylmannose

32 gm of azidoethylmannose is taken into 100 mL water. The turbidsolution is filtered through a glass microfibre filter (Whatman GF/B).The filtrate is evaporated to a solid on a rotovapor. The solid is takeninto Methanol (100 mL) and the turbid solution is again filtered througha glass microfibre filter. The resulting pale yellow filtrate isstripped to a solid under vacuum.

The solid is taken into a minimum of methanol (50 mL) and ethyl acetate(150 mL) is added slowly with stirring. The heavy slurry is cooled andfiltered. The solid is air dried (hygroscopic) and put in a 60 C ovenovernight. The Mother Liquor is evaporated under vacuum to a yellow gum.

Example 3 Synthesis of Azidoethylmannobiose (AzEBM)

The AzEM compound from Example 2 is selectively protected using benzenedimethyl ether, purified by column chromatography and subsequentlyreacted with benzyl bromide to give 1-α-(2-azidoethyl)-4,6-benzaldehydediacetal-3-benzyl-mannopyranoside. The product is subsequentlyglycosylated with 1-α-bromo-2,3,4,6-tetrabenzoylmannopyranoside usingsilver triflate chemistry under rigorously anhydrous conditions to givethe protected-azidoethylmannobiose product. The intermediate product isthen deprotected to remove the benzoyl groups to give AzEBM.

Example 4 Synthesis of Azidoethylmannotriose (AzETM) a.1-α-bromo-2,3,4,6-tetrabenzoyl-mannose

To a 500 mL 3-neck flask containing a stir bar and nitrogen inlet wasadded 40 gm (60.9 mmole) of pentabenzoylmannose and 80 mL methylenechloride. The resulting solution was cooled in an ice bath to <5 C, and80 mL 33% HBr-acetic acid solution was added via an addition funnel atsuch a rate to maintain the reaction temperature <10 C. Upon completeaddition (˜30 min.) the ice bath was removed and stirring was continuedfor 3 hours.

The reaction solution was diluted with an equal volume (160 mL) of DCMand extracted successively with water (2×500 mL), saturated bicarbonate(2×50 mL) and Brine (1×50 mL), dried over magnesium sulfate and thesolvent evaporated to give 41 gm of solid foam. (Theoretical yield 40.1gm) and was stored under N₂ in a freezer. This material was used withoutfurther purification. The reaction was monitored by TLC: silica gel(Hexane/Ethyl Acetate, 7/3) starting material R_(f) 0.65, product R_(f)0.8 UV visualization. ¹H NMR (CDCl₃) δ 8.11 (d, 2H), 8.01 (m, 4H), 7.84(d, 2H), 7.58 (m, 4H), 7.41 (m, 6H), 7.28 (t, 2H), 6.58 (s, 1H), 6.28(m, 2H), 5.8 (m, 1H), 4.75 (dd, 1H) 4.68 (dd, 1H) 4.5 (dd, 1H).

b. 1-Azidoethyl-2,4-dibenzoylmannose

To a 1.0 L, 3-neck flask containing a stir bar, nitrogen inlet and 300mL of anhydrous acetonitrile was added 25 gm 1-azidoethylmannose (100.4mmole), and 50 mL triethyl orthobenzoate (220 mmole, 2.2 equiv.). Theresulting slurry was stirred at room temperature and 0.8 mL (10 mmole)trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) was added neat. The solution cleared within10 minutes and stirring was continued for an additional two hours, then25 mL of 10% aqueous TFA was added and stirring was continued for anadditional 2 hours to hydrolyze the intermediate to the ester isomers.The solvent was evaporated under vacuum to a viscous oil, which wastriturated with 50 mL DCM and again evaporated to a viscous oil. Toluene(70 mL) was added to the residue and the viscous solution was seededwith 2,4-dibenzoylazidoethylmannose. A fine precipitate formed within 15minutes and stirring was continued overnight at room temperature. Theresulting heavy suspension was set in the freezer for 2-4 hours, thenfiltered and the solid washed with ice cold toluene (2×10 mL). The solidwas air dried to a constant weight to give 21 gm (TY 22.85 gm @ 50%isomeric purity) of −95% isomeric purity. The product was taken into 40mL toluene, stirred for 1 hour and then set in the freezer for anadditional 2 hours. The solid was filtered and washed (2×10 mL) with icecold toluene and air dried to a constant weight to give 18.5 gm of thesingle isomer product 2,4-dibenzoylazidoethylmannose in 83% yield. Themother liquors contained the undesired isomer and a small amount of thedesired isomer. The reaction was monitored by TLC: SG (Hexane/EthylAcetate 7/3) Starting Material R_(f) 0.0, orthoester intermediate R_(f)0.9. (Hexane/Ethyl Acetate: 8/2) SM R_(f) 0.8, desired isomer R_(f) 0.4,un-desired isomer R_(f) 0.2 ¹H NMR 300 MHz (CDCl₃) δ 8.12 (t, 4H), 7.66(t, 2H), 7.5 (m, 4H), 5.56 (t, 1H), 5.48 (m, 1H), 5.14 (m, 1H), 4.5 (dd,1H), 4.0 (m, 2H), 3.8 (m, 3H), 3.56 (m, 1H), 3.44 (m, 1H).

c. Perbenzoylated-man(α-1,3)-man(α-1,6)-α-1-azidoethylmannopyranoside

To a 1.0 L 3-neck flask with a stir bar, nitrogen inlet was added 41 gmcrude 1-bromo-tetrabenzoymannose (60.9 mmole, ˜2.5 equiv.) in 185 mLDCM. To this was added 11.2 gm 2,4-dibenzoylazidoethylmannose (24.5mmole) followed by 11.2 gm 4 A sieves. The slurry was stirred a roomtemperature for 10 minutes and cooled to −15° C. in a methanol/ice bath.

In a separate dark vessel was added 190 mL toluene followed by 15.1 gmsilver-triflluoromethanesulfonate (AgOTf) (58.8 mmole, 2.4 equiv.) andwas stirred into solution in the dark. This solution was transferred toa large addition funnel, and added drop-wise to the stirring suspensionwhile protecting the reaction from light. The reaction temperature wasmaintained <−10 C by adjusting the AgOTf addition rate. Upon completeaddition (˜30 minutes) the cold bath was removed and the reactionstirred for an additional 2 hours until a single product remained byTLC(SG, Hexane/Ethyl Acetate: 7/3, Bromo R_(f) 0.9, azido R_(f) 0.4,trios product R_(f) 0.5, uv visualization).

Triethylamine (7 mL, 5.0 equiv.) was added followed by 200 mL DCM. Theresulting slurry was filtered through a pad of silica gel and celite andwashed with 2×75 mL DCM. The solvent was evaporated under vacuum and theresidue taken into ethyl acetate and washed sequentially with water(2×100 mL), bicarb (2×50 mL), brine (1×75 mL) and dried over magnesiumsulfate. The solvent was evaporated under vacuum to give 39 gm of solidfoam (TY 39.5 gm). ¹H NMR 300 MHz (CDCl₃) δ 8.3 (d, 2H), 8.2 (m, 8H),7.85 (d, 4H), 7.75 (dd, 4H), 7.3-7.65 (m, 30H), 7.2 (t, 2H), 6.05 (m,4H), 5.9 (t, 2H), 5.63 (m, 2H), 5.38 (s, 2H), 5.18 (d, 1H), 4.65 (m,4H), 4.5 (m, 2H), 4.35 (m, 4H), 3.8 (m, 2H), 3.54 (m, 2H).

d. Man(α-1,3)-man(α-1,6)-α-1-azidoethylmannopyranoside

To a stirring suspension of 3.0 gmperbenzoylated-man(α-1,3)-man(α-1,6)-α-1-azidoethylmannopyranoside (1.86mmole) in 40 mL methanol was added 0.2 mL 4.28M sodium methoxide inmethanol. The resulting suspension was stirred 20 hours at roomtemperature giving a clear solution. The completion of the reaction wasmonitored by TLC, (SG, hexane/ethyl acetate: 8/2 SM R_(f) 0.4, productR_(f) 0.0).

The methanol was evaporated under vacuum giving an oily semi-solid. Theresidue was taken into ethyl acetate (50 mL) and stirred for 3 hours.The solid was filtered, washed with fresh ethyl acetate (2×20 mL) andair dried to a constant weight to give 1.09 gm (TY 1.07 gm) of product.The mother liquors contained residual methyl benzoate, the de-protectionby-product.

Example 5 Synthesis of aminoethyl-saccharides (AEG, AEM, AEBM, AETM)from azidoethyl-saccharides (AzEG, AzEM, AzEBM, AzETM)

The azido-terminated compounds from Examples 1-4 are readilyhydrogenated at room temperature by using palladium/carbon catalyst, asmall amount of acetic acid, and ethanol as a solvent to give thecorresponding amine-terminated compounds. FIG. 10 shows the chemicalstructures of AEG, AEM, AEBM, AETM. The process is identical to the onedescribed for AETM below, except that those skilled in the art willunderstand that the amounts of reagents, solvents, etc. should be scaledto the number of moles of saccharide-ligand to be hydrogenated.

a. Man(α-1,3)-Man(α-1,6)-α-1-aminoethylmannopyranoside(“aminoethyltrimannose”, AETM)

To a solution of 5.3 gm (9.25 mmole)man(α-1,3)-man(α-1,6)-α-1-azidoethylmannopyranoside in 100 mL water and50 mL ethanol was added 0.8 gm 5% Pd/C. The vigorously stirringsuspension was hydrogenated at 30-40 psi for 48 hours or until nostarting material was apparent by TLC (SG, Methanol, SM R_(f) 0.75, PdtR_(f) 0.0, PMA vis.). The suspension was filtered over celite, which wasrinsed with ethanol (2×50 mL) and the filtrate concentrated undervacuum.

HPLC of this material (C18, 3% Acetonitrile/97% 0.1% H₃PO₄, 220 nm, 2ml/min) gave uv adsorption of the injection column void material, Rt 2.5minutes, indicative of benzoate ester.

The filtrate was diluted with 70 mL water and 12 mL of 1N NaOH and thesolution stirred overnight at room temperature (HPLC: no uv material atcolumn void Rt 2.5 min., uv material at Rt 10.5 minutes co-eluting withbenzoic acid). 2 gm of decolorizing charcoal were added and the stirringsuspension heated to 80 C, cooled to room temperature and filtered overcelite. The filtrate pH was adjusted to 8.0 with 2N HCl and thecolorless solution concentrated under vacuum to about 50% volume.

The solution was loaded onto a resin column (Dowex 50W, 50 gm) andwashed with water until eluting fractions were neutral to pH (6×75 mL)removing any residual acid by-products. The amine product was washed offthe column with 0.25N ammonium hydroxide (6×75 mL) and the fractionscontaining the amine product-ninhydrin detection were combined andconcentrated to 25-30 mL under vacuum. This concentrated solution wasadded drop-wise to 300 mL stirring ethanol and stirring continued for anadditional 2 hours. The product was filtered, washed with fresh ethanol(2×50 mL) and air dried to a constant weight. The resulting whiteamorphous solid was dried further in a vacuum oven at 80 C for 5 hoursto give 4.1 gm of a white granular solid (TY 5.1 gm). The NMR was cleanof any aromatic protons. ¹H NMR 300 MHz (D₂O) δ 5.08 (s, 1H), 4.87 (s,1H), 4.81 (s, 1H), 4.8-3.6 (m, 18H), 2.9 (m, 2H).

Example 6 Dipropargyl Saccharide Synthesis and Production of AE-Liganda. Synthesis of diethyl diproparglymalonate

Diethylmalonate (122.5 g, 0.7648 mol) was added to absolute ethanol (800ml) containing sodium ethoxide (prepared from sodium metal, 38.5 g, 1.67mol). After 30 min, propargyl bromide (200 g, 1.68 mol) was slowly addedto the stirred suspension, keeping the temperature under 60 C. Themixture was refluxed overnight (15 hours). The precipitated salts wereremoved by filtration and washed with ethanol. Solvent was removed invacuo, and the residue diluted with water and extracted with ethanol(2×200 ml). The combined extracts were dried over MgSO4, filtered,washed with Et2O and the solvent removed in vacuo to afford a goldencolored oil. The oil was placed on high vacuum (40 C) for 3 hours andallowed to stand. Solids began to crystallize forming an oily solid. Letstand overnight (16 hours). Cyclohexane was charged to flask, solidsbroken-up, filtered, and washed with cyclohexane to afford whitecrystalline product (81 gm, 44.8% yield). Reaction was followed by GC.

b. Synthesis of Dipropargylmalonic Acid

Diethyl dipropargyl malonate (80 gm, 0.339 mol) was refluxed in 600 mlof 10% alcoholic potassium hydroxide overnight (15 hours). Solvent wasremoved in vacuo and the residue was acidified with 3N HCl. The residuewas extracted with Et2O (2×300 ml). The combined extracts were driedover MgSO4, filtered, washed with Et2O and concentrated in vacuo to anoil. Placed on high vac (40 C) for 2 hours and let stand to afforddipropargylmalonic acid as an oil (46 gm, 75.4% yield). Reaction wasfollowed by GC.

c. Synthesis of dipropargylacetic acid

The dipropargylmalonic acid (26 gm, 0.443 mol) was heated neat at 135 Cuntil CO₂ stopped evolving. It was then allowed to cool to an oil. Theoil was distilled at 0.5 psi. The remaining oily residue in thedistillation flask and solid were combined (15.7 gm, 79.9% yield) andwas used as is in the next step.

d. Synthesis of [2-(3-prop-2-ynyl-hex-5-ynoylamino)-ethyl]-carbamic acidt-butyl ester

N-boc-ethylenediamine (18.3 gm, 0.1143 mol) in 50 ml of CH₃CN was addedslowly via an addition funnel to a stirred solution containingdipropargylacetic acid (15.56 gm, 0.1143 mol), TBTU (36.74 gm, 0.114mol) and DIPEA (29.6 gm, 0.229 mol) in 300 ml of CH₃CN at 0 C.Precipitation occurred. The ice bath was removed and the product wasstirred at ambient temperature overnight (16 hours). The reaction wasnow totally homogeneous. The solution was concentrated in vacuo and theresidue was diluted with 800 ml of water. The resulting solids werefiltered, washed copiously with water, and vacuum dried to give 14.3 gmof crude product. Re-crystallization (2×) from DCM, filtration andwashing with hexanes affords the product (9.85 gm, 31% yield, 98% purityby HPLC (214 nm)).

e. Click reaction of azidosaccharide to[2-(3-prop-2-ynyl-hex-5-ynoylamino)-ethyl]-carbamic acid t-butyl ester

To 1,1 dipropargyl-acetyl-(-1N,2N—BOC-1,2-diaminoethyl)amide (DP, 418mg, 1.5 mmole) in DCM (20 mL) was added drop-wise TFA (4 mL) over 5minutes at 0 C. The darkening solution was stirred at room temperatureovernight. The volatiles were evaporated under reduced pressure. Toluene(20 mL) was added to the residue and stripped under reduced pressure twotimes. The resulting dark oil was used without further purification.

To this residue was added THF (20 mL) and water (20 mL) with stirringfor 15 minutes. Copper Sulfate (225 mg, 0.9 mmole) was added followed bysodium ascorbate (180 mg, 0.9 mmole). The resulting mixture was heatedto 55-60 C for 6 hours and then stirred at room temperature for 18hours. The solution was evaporated under reduced pressure to approx.half volume and filtered through a microfibre glass filter. Theresulting clear solution was placed on a resin column (Dowex 50X-2)which was washed with water (6×75 mL) until neutral pH, and then washedwith 10% NH₄OH (8×75 mL). The fractions staining positive with Ninhydrinwere combined and evaporated under reduced pressure to a glassy solid.The glass residue was taken into water (250 mL) and treated with 0.5 gmcharcoal and heated to reflux. The cooled slurry was filtered overcelite and a microfibre filter. The resulting pale yellow solution wasevaporated to a glassy solid under reduced pressure and methanol wasadded and evaporated (2×) to give a off white foam (0.9 gm, TY 1.0 gm).

Example 7 Tripropargyl saccharide synthesis and production of AE-liganda.2-(2-BOC-aminoethyl)thioacetamide-tris[(propargyloxy)methyl]aminomethane

To a solution of t-butyl N-(2-mercaptoethyl)carbamate (Frontrun Organix,Ipswich, Mass.; 177.26 mg, 1 mmole) in ethanol (5 mL) was added NaOH(1.1 mmole) with stirring at room temperature. To this solution wasadded 2-bromoacetamide-tris[(propargyloxy)methyl]aminomethane (356 mg,1.0 mmole, see J. Org. Chem. 73, 5602, 2008) and stirring was continuedfor 20 hours (TLC SG 8/2 hexane/ethyl acetate, pdt R_(f) 0.4). Thesolvent was evaporated under vacuum and the residue was taken into ethylacetate (40 mL) and washed successively with water (25 mL), 0.5 N NaOH(25 mL) and Brine (25 mL), dried over Na₂SO₄ filtered and concentratedto an oil (360 mg, TY 452.3 mg). NMR CDCl₃, (ppm): 7.05 (s, 1H, N—H);5.25 ((s, 1H, N—H); 4.85 (s, 6H); 3.85 (s, 6H); 3.3 (m, 2H); 3.15 (s,2H); 2.7 (m, 2H); 2.42 (s, 3H); 1.22 (s, 9H).

b. 2-(2-aminoethyl)thioacetamide-tris[(triazolo-1-(2-ethylmannose)4-methoxy)methyl]aminomethane

To a stirring solution of2-(2-BOC-aminoethyl)thioacetamide-tris[(propargyloxy)methyl]aminomethane(1 gm, 2.21 mmole) in DCM (40 mL) at room temperature was added TFA (4mL) dropwise. The resulting solution was stirred overnight. The solventswere removed under vacuum and the residue taken into toluene (15 mL) andevaporated to dryness.

The residue was taken into THF (40 mL), water (40 mL) and stirred intosolution. Azidoethylmannose (3.75 eq., 2.0 gm, 8.3 mmole) was addedfollowed by copper sulfate (500 mg, 2.0 mmole) and sodium ascorbate (400mg, 2.0 mmole) and the resultant mixture stirred at 55-60 C (oil bath)for 6 hours, cooled to room temperature and stirred overnight. Theresulting mixture was concentrated under vacuum to one half volume andfiltered thru a micro-glass filter. The filtrate was loaded on a resincolumn (Dowex 50w 50×4-100) and eluted with water (6×75 mL) untilneutral. The column was then eluted with 15% Ammonium Hydroxide (10×75mL) and the fractions positive to ninhydrin were pooled and concentratedto a glassy foam (1.29 gm, TY (MW 1099 g/mol), 53% over two steps).

Example 8 Synthesis of NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin

In a typical synthesis, 4 g of powdered insulin (Sigma Aldrich, St.Louis, Mo.) is dissolved in 100 ml of anhydrous DMSO at room temperaturefollowed by the addition of 4 ml of triethylamine (TEA). The solution isstirred for 30 minutes at room temperature. Next, 1.79 ml (2.6equivalents) of di-tert-butyl-dicarbonate/THF solution (Sigma Aldrich,St. Louis, Mo.) is slowly added to the insulin-TEA solution and mixedfor approximately one hour. The reaction is quenched via the addition of4 ml of a stock solution containing 250 ul of ethanolamine in 5 ml ofDMSO followed by mixing for five minutes. After quenching, the entiresolution is poured into 1600 ml of acetone and mixed briefly with aspatula. Next, 8×400 μl aliquots of a 18.9% HCl:water solution are addeddropwise over the surface of the mixture to precipitate the reactedinsulin. The precipitated material is then centrifuged and thesupernatant decanted into a second beaker while the precipitate cake isset aside. To the supernatant solution, another 8×400 μl aliquots of a18.9% HCl:water solution are added dropwise over the surface of themixture to obtain a second precipitate of reacted insulin. This secondprecipitate is centrifuged and the supernatant is discarded. Thecombined centrifuge cakes from the two precipitation steps are washedonce with acetone followed by drying under vacuum at room temperature toyield the crude powder which typically contains 60% of the desired BOC2product and 40% of the BOC3 material.

A preparative reverse phase HPLC method is used to isolate the pureBOC2-insulin from the crude powder. Buffer A is deionized watercontaining 0.1% TFA and Buffer B is acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA.The crude powder is dissolved at 25 mg/ml in a 70% A/30% B mixture andsyringe filtered prior to injection on the column. Before purification,the column (Waters SymmetryPrep C18, 7 um, 19×150 mm) is equilibrated at15 ml/minutes with a 70% A/30% B mobile phase using a Waters DeltraPrep600 system. Approximately 5 ml of the crude powder solution is injectedonto the column at a flow rate of 15 ml/minutes over the course of 5minutes after which a linear gradient is employed from 70% A/30% B to62% A/38% B over the course of the next 3.5 minutes and held there foran additional 2.5 minutes. Using this method, the desired BOC2 peakelutes at approximately 10.6 minutes followed closely by the BOC3 peak.Once collected, the solution is rotovapped to remove acetonitrile andlyophilized to obtain pure BOC2-insulin powder. Identity is verified byLC-MS (HT Laboratories, San Diego, Calif.) and site of conjugationdetermined by N-terminal sequencing (Western Analytical, St. Louis,Mo.).

Example 9 Synthesis of benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxy-(N-ω-aminoacid-NHSester)amide frameworks

A solution of 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl chloride (1 gm, 3.8 mmole) indichloromethane (DCM) (5 mL) is added drop-wise to a vigorously stirringsolution of an ω-aminoacid (3.1 equivalents) in 1N NaOH (25 mL) in anice bath. The ice bath is removed and stirring is continued for 4 hoursat room temperature. 2N HCl (˜15 mL) is added dropwise to approximatelypH 2 and the resulting slurry is stirred for an additional 2 hours. Theprecipitate is filtered, washed with cold water (2×20 mL) and dried inair under vacuum and then in a 60 C oven overnight. The resulting whitesolid is used without further purification. Yield for each ω-aminoacid(4-aminobutyric acid: yield 1.6 gm, 91%; 6-aminocaproic acid: yield 1.9gm, 92%)

The above material is taken into DMSO (5 mL) containingN-hydroxysuccinimide (3.1 mmole, 3.1 equiv.) andN-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide (EDCI, 3.6 mmole, 3.6equiv.) is added at room temperature. The resulting solution is stirredfor 24 hours, diluted with water (125 mL) and extracted with ethylacetate (3×50 mL). The combined organic phase is washed with water (2×50mL), brine (1×50 mL) and dried over MgSO₄. The solvent is evaporated andthe semi-solid residue triturated with acetonitrile (10 mL). The solidis filtered and washed with cold solvent, dried in air under vacuum andthen in a 60 C oven overnight. The product is free of urea bi-product.Benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxy-(N-6-aminocaproic-NHS ester)amide (TSB-C6): 304mg, 36%, mp 140-142 C.Benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxy-(N-4-butyric-NHS-ester)amide (TSB-C4): 245 mg,45%, mp 182-184 C.

Example 10 Dendritic Framework Synthesis

a. Hydrogenation of Nitro-Group Containing, Alkyne-TerminallyFunctionalized Dendrons

Dendrons containing either n=2, 4, or 8 terminal alkynes and anitropropionic acid core are obtained (e.g., from Polymer Factory,Sweden) and used without further purification. The dendron is dissolvedin 100 mL a 50:50 vol. mixture of DCM and ethanol, and 0.8 gm of 5% Pd/Cis added. The vigorously stirring suspension is hydrogenated at 30-40psi for 48 hours or until no starting material is apparent by TLC. Thesuspension is filtered over celite, which is rinsed with ethanol (2×50mL) and the filtrate concentrated under vacuum.

The filtrate is diluted with 70 mL water and 12 mL of 1N NaOH and thesolution stirred overnight at room temperature. 2 gm of decolorizingcharcoal are added and the stirring suspension heated to 80 C, cooled toroom temperature and filtered over celite. The filtrate pH is adjustedto 8.0 with 2N HCl and the colorless solution concentrated under vacuumto about 50% volume.

The solution is loaded onto a resin column (Dowex 50W, 50 gm) and washedwith water until eluting fractions are neutral to pH (6×75 mL) removingany residual acid by-products. The amine product is washed off thecolumn with 0.25N ammonium hydroxide (6×75 mL) and the fractionscontaining the amine product (ninhydrin detection) are combined andevaporated to vacuum using a rotary evaporator.

b. Reaction of Dendron (Amine, Alkyne-4) with Azidoethyl Mannose

The dendron product containing the amino core and four terminal alkynegroups obtained after hydrogenation (8.3 mmol) is taken into THF (40mL), water (40 mL) and stirred into solution. Azidoethylmannose (4.75eq., 2.53 gm, 10.51 mmole) is added followed by copper sulfate (500 mg,2.0 mmole) and sodium ascorbate (400 mg, 2.0 mmole) and the resultantmixture stirred at 55-60 C (oil bath) for 6 hours, cooled to roomtemperature and stirred overnight. The resulting mixture is concentratedunder vacuum to one half volume and filtered thru a micro-glass filter.The filtrate is loaded on a resin column (Dowex 50w 50×4-100) and elutedwith water (6×75 mL) until neutral. The column is then eluted with 15%ammonium hydroxide (10×75 mL) and the fractions positive to ninhydrinare pooled and concentrated to a glassy foam.

Example 11 Amine-Functionalized Drug Conjugation with MultivalentActivated Esters in Organic Solvent (Drug Added First)

A framework containing N-terminal activated esters is dissolved at 60 mMin 1.0 ml of anhydrous DMSO followed by the addition of 400 ul (excess)of triethylamine (TEA). The solution is stirred rapidly for 10 minutesat room temperature. The amine-bearing drug is then dissolved separatelyin 7.9 ml of DMSO at a concentration of 7.4 mM. Once dissolved, theentire drug solution is added dropwise over the course of 10 minutes tothe framework/DMSO/TEA solution followed by room temperature mixing fortwo hours. The remaining activated esters are then reacted withamine-functionalized ligands in the following manner. A 370 mM solutionof ligand is prepared in an appropriate volume of dry DMSO. Oncedissolved, enough solution is added to provide a number of reactiveequivalents equal to three times the number of initial activated estergroups, N, minus one. For example, if there are N=3 initial activatedester groups per framework, then (3×(3−1)×60 mM/370 mM)=0.973 ml ofligand solution are added. If there are N=4 initial activated estergroups per framework, then (3×(4−1)×60 mM/370 mM)=1.46 ml of ligandsolution are added, and so on. After the ligand solution is added, thesolution is stirred for one more hour at room temperature to ensurecomplete reaction.

The resulting solution is then superdiluted by 10× into a 20 mM pH 5.0HEPES buffered saline solution containing 0.150 M NaCl followed by pHadjustment with dilute HCl to a final pH of 8.0. The aqueous solution isfirst purified by size exclusion using an appropriate solid phase forthe desired separation of conjugated and unconjugated materials. Thesolution passing through the column void volume is then concentratedusing an appropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane to approximately10 ml. This solution is further purified to obtain the desired productusing preparative reverse phase HPLC on a Waters C8, 7 um, 19×150 mmcolumn. Buffer A is deionized water containing 0.1% TFA and Buffer B isacetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA. Before purification, the column isequilibrated at 15 ml/minutes with a 80% A/20% B mobile phase using aWaters DeltraPrep 600 sytem. Approximately 5 ml of the crude solution isinjected onto the column over the course of 2 minutes at a flow rate of15 ml/minutes after which a linear gradient is employed from 80% A/20% Bto 75% A/25% B over the next 5 minutes followed by a slower lineargradient from 75% A/25% B to 62% A/38% B over the next 22 minutes. Theretention time of the desired peak will vary depending on the drug,framework, and ligand used. Once collected, the solution is rotovappedto remove acetonitrile and lyophilized to obtain pure conjugate whoseidentity may be verified by LC-MS (HT Laboratories, San Diego, Calif.).

Example 12 B1-Insulin Conjugates with Multivalent SaccharidesHomogeneous Ligand

Using the method described in Example 11 and the amine-bearing drug,NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin (MW=6,008 g/mol) of Example 8, insulinconjugates were prepared with the following frameworks and ligands.Tris-Succinimidyl-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate (TSB), tris-Succinimidylaminotriacetate (TSAT), tris-Succinimidyl(6-aminocaproyl)aminotriacetate(TSAT-C6), and tetrakis-(N-succinimidyl carboxypropyl)pentaerythritolTSPE activated ester frameworks were purchased from MolecularBiosciences (Boulder, Colo.) and used without further purification. TheTSB-C4 and TSB-C6 frameworks were synthesized according to Example 9.The AEM, AEBM, and AETM ligands were synthesized according to Examples1-5. The appropriately sized size exclusion medium is Biogel P2 (Bio-RadLaboratories, Hercules, Calif.), and the appropriately sizedultrafiltration membrane molecular weight cutoff is 3 kD.

In all cases, the BOC protecting groups were removed by dissolving thelyophilized powder obtained according to Example 11 in 90% TFA/10%anisole for one hour at 4 C followed by 10× superdilution in 25 mM HEPESpH 8.2 buffer containing 0.150M NaCl. The pH was adjusted to between 7.0and 8.0 using NaOH solution after which the material is passed through aBiogel P2 column to remove anisole, BOC and other low MW byproducts ofdeprotection, as well as any other contaminating salts. The deprotected,purified aqueous conjugate solution was then concentrated using Amicon3K membranes (Millipore, Billerica, Mass.) to approximately 58 U ofinsulin/ml (based on A280 measurements) and stored at 4 C until needed.Because the starting NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin material only possessesone free amine group at the Phe-B1 terminus, the Phe-B1 is the only siteof insulin conjugation to the framework as verified in each deprotectedfinal product by N-terminal sequencing.

In the following table (and others like it in the Examples) theframework MW values are for the activated esters of the frameworks. Thisis so one can immediately calculate the mass of activated esterframework to add to the reaction mixture. Once reacted, the frameworkloses the activated esters and so the MW contribution in the finalproduct is much lower.

Frame- AE- MW Frame- work sugar Purity (LC- Sugar/ Conjugate work MWLigand MW (HPLC) MS) Insulin TSB- TSB 501 AEM 223 97% 6410 2.0 AEM-2(B1) TSB- TSB 501 AEBM 385 94% 6734 2.0 AEBM-2 (B1) TSB- TSB 501 AETM547 96% 7057 2.0 AETM-2 (B1) TSB-C4- TSB-C4 755 AEM 223 95% 6665 2.0AEM-2 (B1) TSB-C4- TSB-C4 755 AEBM 385 97% 6989 2.0 AEBM- 2 (B1) TSB-C4-TSB-C4 755 AETM 547 95% 7313 2.0 AETM- 2 (B1) TSB-C6- TSB-C6 882 AEM 22399% 6791 2.0 AEM-2 (B1) TSB-C6- TSB-C6 882 AEBM 385 99% 7114 2.0 AEBM- 2(B1) TSB-C6- TSB-C6 882 AETM 547 95% 7438 2.0 AETM- 2 (B1) TSAT- TSAT482 AEM 223 98% 6390 2.0 AEM-2 (B1) TSAT- TSAT 482 AEBM 385 95% 6714 2.0AEBM-2 (B1) TSAT- TSAT 482 AETM 547 94% 7038 2.0 AETM-2 (B1) I-1: TSAT-822 AEM 223 97% 6730 2.0 TSAT-C6- C6 AEM-2 (B1) I-3: TSAT- 822 AEBM 38599% 7054 2.0 TSAT-C6- C6 AEBM-2 (B1) I-2: TSAT- 822 AETM 547 97% 73782.0 TSAT-C6- C6 AETM-2 (B1) I-16: TSPE 813 AEM 223 98% 6829 3.0 TSPE-AEM-3 (B1) TSPE- TSPE 813 AEBM 385 97% 7314 3.0 AEBM-3 (B1) TSPE- TSPE813 AETM 547 94% 7802 3.0 AETM-3 (B1)

Example 13 B1-Insulin Conjugates with Multivalent Saccharides MixedLigands

Using the method described in Example 11 and the amine-bearing drug,NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-Insulin (MW=6,008 g/mol) of Example 8, insulinconjugates were prepared which possessed a mixture of saccharide ligandsconnected to the framework.

The TSAT-C6 and TSPE activated ester frameworks were purchased fromMolecular Biosciences (Boulder, Colo.) and used without furtherpurification. The AEM, AEBM, and AETM were synthesized according toExamples 1-5. The appropriately sized size exclusion medium is Biogel P2(Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.), and the appropriately sizedultrafiltration membrane molecular weight cutoff is 3 kD.

In all cases, the BOC protecting groups were removed by dissolving thelyophilized powder obtained according to Example 11 in 90% TFA/10%anisole for one hour at 4 C followed by 10× superdilution in 25 mM HEPESpH 8.2 buffer containing 0.150M NaCl. The pH was adjusted to between 7.0and 8.0 using NaOH solution after which the material was passed througha Biogel P2 column to remove anisole, BOC and other low MW byproducts ofdeprotection, as well as any other contaminating salts. The deprotected,purified aqueous conjugate solution was then concentrated using Amicon3K membranes (Millipore, Billerica, Mass.) to the desired level andstored at 4 C until needed. Because the startingNH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin material only possesses one free amine groupat the Phe-B1 terminus, the Phe-B1 is the only site of insulinconjugation to the framework as verified in each deprotected finalproduct by N-terminal sequencing.

Frame- AE- MW Conjugate work Mixed sugar Purity (LC- Sugar/ IdentityFramework MW Ligand MW (HPLC) MS) Insulin TSPE- TSPE 813 AEM/AETM223/547 94% 7478 1.0 AEM-1- (33/67 mol/mol) AEM, AETM-2 2.0 (B1) AETMTSPE- TSPE 813 AEM/AETM 223/547 94% 7152 2.0 AEM-2- (67/33 mol/mol) AEM,AETM-1 1.0 (B1) AETM TSAT- TSAT-C6 822 AEM/AEBM 223/385 96% 6892 1.0C6-AEM- (50/50 mol/mol) AEM, 1-AEBM- 1.0 1 (B1) AEBM I-4: TSAT-C6 822AEBM/AETM 385/547 95% 7216 1.0 TSAT- (50/50 mol/mol) AEBM, C6- 1.0AEBM-1- AETM AETM-1 (B1)

Example 14 B1-Insulin Conjugates with Multivalent Saccharides UsingPremade Multivalent Saccharides

Using the method described in Example 11 and the amine-bearing drug,NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin (MW=6,008 g/mol) of Example 8, the followinginsulin conjugates are prepared from pre-synthesized multivalentamine-containing ligands. The disuccinimidyl suberate (DSS) and TSAT-C6activated ester frameworks are purchased from Molecular Biosciences(Boulder, Colo.) and used without further purification. Divalent AEM-2,AEBM-2, and AETM-2 molecules containing a terminal reactive amine areprepared by conjugating two of each ligand to a suitable framework towhich a reactive amine is also conjugated. Trivalent AEM-3, AEBM-3, andAETM-3 molecules containing a terminal reactive amine are prepared byconjugating three of each ligand to a suitable framework to which areactive amine is also conjugated. The appropriately sized sizeexclusion medium is Biogel P2 (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.),and the appropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane molecular weightcutoff is 3 kD.

In all cases, the BOC protecting groups are removed by dissolving thelyophilized powder obtained according to Example 11 in 90% TFA/10%anisole for one hour at 4 C followed by 10× superdilution in 25 mM HEPESpH 8.2 buffer containing 0.150 M NaCl. The pH is adjusted to between 7.0and 8.0 using NaOH solution after which the material is passed through aBiogel P2 column to remove anisole, BOC and other low MW byproducts ofdeprotection, as well as any other contaminating salts. The deprotected,purified aqueous conjugate solution is then concentrated using Amicon 3Kmembranes (Millipore, Billerica, Mass.) to the desired level and storedat 4 C until needed. Because the starting NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-Insulinmaterial only possesses one free amine group at the Phe-B1 terminus, thePhe-B1 is the only site of insulin conjugation to the framework asverified in each deprotected final product by N-terminal sequencing.

Expected Conjugate Synthesis Conditions Characterization Frame- AE- MWConjugate Frame- work sugar (LC- Sugar/ Identity work MW Ligand MW MS)Insulin DSS- DSS 368 AEM-2 676 6621 2.0 AEM (AEM-2)-1 (B1) DSS- DSS 368AEBM-2 1000 6945 2.0 AEBM (AEM-2)-1 (B1) DSS- DSS 368 AETM-2 1324 72692.0 AETM (AEM-2)-1 (B1) DSS- DSS 368 AEM-3 1085 7031 3.0 AEM (AEM-3)-1(B1) DSS- DSS 368 AEBM-3 1571 7517 3.0 AEBM (AEM-3)-1 (B1) DSS- DSS 368AETM-3 2057 8003 3.0 AETM (AEM-3)-1 (B1) TSAT-C6- TSAT- 822 AEM-2 6767637 4.0 AEM (AEM-2)- C6 2 (B1) TSAT-C6- TSAT- 822 AEBM-2 1000 8285 4.0AEBM (AEBM- C6 2)-2 (B1) TSAT-C6- TSAT- 822 AETM-2 1324 8933 4.0 AETM(AEM-2)- C6 2 (B1) TSAT-C6- TSAT- 822 AEM-3 1085 8046 6.0 AEM (AEM-3)-C6 2 (B1) TSAT-C6- TSAT- 822 AEBM-3 1571 9018 6.0 AEBM (AEBM-3)- C6 2(B1) TSAT-C6- TSAT- 822 AETM-3 2057 9990 6.0 AETM (AEM-3)- C6 2 (B1)

Example 15 B1-Insulin Conjugates with Multivalent Saccharides UsingDendritic Framework Homogeneous Ligand

0.1 gm (0.098 mmol) dendron containing an amino core and four terminalalkyne groups prepared in Example 10b is dissolved at 100 mg/ml inanhydrous DMSO. The solution is added dropwise to a solution containingdisuccinimidyl suberate (DSS, Molecular Biosciences, 0.098 mmol) andtriethylamine (400 uL) and allowed to react for 1 hour at roomtemperature. This mixture is then added dropwise to a 50 mg/ml solutioncontaining the NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin (MW=6,008 g/mol) of Example 8(0.588 g, 0.098 mmol) and allowed to react for 2 hours.

The resulting conjugate is superdiluted in water, and the pH adjusted to8.0. The solution is desalted using BioGel P2, followed by concentrationusing Amicon 3 k ultrafiltration devices. The resulting solution ispurified by reverse phase chromatography, rotovapped to removeacetonitrile, and lyophilized. The BOC protecting groups are removed bydissolving the lyophilized powder in 90% TFA/10% anisole for one hour at4 C followed by 10× superdilution in 25 mM HEPES pH 8.2 buffercontaining 0.150 M NaCl. The pH is adjusted to between 7.0 and 8.0 usingNaOH solution after which the material is passed through a Biogel P2column to remove anisole, BOC and other low MW byproducts ofdeprotection, as well as any other contaminating salts. The deprotected,purified aqueous conjugate solution is then concentrated using Amicon 3Kmembranes (Millipore, Billerica, Mass.) to the desired level and storedat 4 C until needed. Because the starting NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulinmaterial only possesses one free amine group at the Phe-B1 terminus, thePhe-B1 is the only site of insulin conjugation to the framework and isverified in each deprotected final product by N-terminal sequencing.

Example 16 Synthesis of NH₂—B29-BOC2(A1,B1)-insulin a.Fmoc-1-(B29)-insulin

In a typical synthesis, 4 gm of powdered insulin (Sigma Aldrich, St.Louis, Mo.) is dissolved in 100 ml of anhydrous DMSO at room temperaturefollowed by the addition of 4 ml of triethylamine (TEA). The solution isstirred for 30 minutes at room temperature. Next, 1.2 equivalents of9-fluorenylmethyl N-succinimidyl carbonate (Fmoc-NHS) (Sigma Aldrich,St. Louis, Mo.) is slowly added to the insulin-TEA solution as a 1.0 Msolution of the Fmoc-NHS in THF. The reaction is mixed for approximatelyone hour. The reaction is quenched via the addition of 4 ml of a stocksolution containing 250 ul of ethanolamine in 5 ml of DMSO followed bymixing for five minutes. After quenching, the entire solution is pouredinto 1600 ml of acetone and mixed briefly with a spatula. Next, 8×400 μlaliquots of a 18.9% HCl:water solution are added dropwise over thesurface of the mixture to precipitate the reacted insulin. Theprecipitated material is then centrifuged and the supernatant decantedinto a second beaker while the precipitate cake is set aside. To thesupernatant solution, another 8×400 μl aliquots of a 18.9% HCl:watersolution are added dropwise over the surface of the mixture to obtain asecond precipitate of reacted insulin. This second precipitate iscentrifuged and the supernatant is discarded. The combined centrifugecakes from the two precipitation steps are washed once with acetonefollowed by drying under vacuum at room temperature to yield the crudepowder which typically contains 20% of the Fmoc1 product, 65% of theFmoc2 product, and 15% of unreacted insulin.

A preparative reverse phase HPLC method is used to isolate the puredesired Fmoc1-insulin from the crude powder. Buffer A is deionized watercontaining 0.1% TFA and Buffer B is acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA.The crude powder is dissolved at 25 mg/ml in a 70% A/30% B mixture andsyringe filtered prior to injection on the column. Before purification,the column (Waters SymmetryPrep C18, 7 um, 19×150 mm) is equilibrated at15 ml/minutes with a 70% A/30% B mobile phase using a Waters DeltraPrep600 system. Approximately 5 ml of the crude powder solution is injectedonto the column at a flow rate of 15 ml/minutes over the course of 5minutes after which a linear gradient is employed from 70% A/30% B to62% A/38% B over the course of the next 3.5 minutes and held there foran additional 2.5 minutes. Using this method, the desired Fmoc1 peakelutes at approximately 3 minutes after the unreacted RHI peak, followedclosely by the Fmoc2-insulin peak. Once collected, the solution isrotovapped to remove acetonitrile and lyophilized to obtain pureFmoc1-insulin powder. Identity is verified by LC-MS (HT Laboratories,San Diego, Calif.) and site of conjugation determined by N-terminalsequencing (Western Analytical, St. Louis, Mo.).

b. BOC2(A1,B1)-Fmoc-(B29)-insulin

In a typical synthesis, 1 g of Fmoc1-(B29)-insulin is dissolved in 25 mlof anhydrous DMSO at room temperature followed by the addition of 1 mlof triethylamine (TEA). The solution is stirred for 30 minutes at roomtemperature. Next, 0.379 ml (2.2 equivalents) ofdi-tert-butyl-dicarbonate/THF solution (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.)is slowly added to the insulin-TEA solution and mixed for approximatelyone hour. The reaction is quenched via the addition of 1 ml of a stocksolution containing 250 ul of ethanolamine in 5 ml of DMSO followed bymixing for five minutes. After quenching, the entire solution is pouredinto 400 ml of acetone and mixed briefly with a spatula. Next, 8×100 μlaliquots of a 18.9% HCl:water solution are added dropwise over thesurface of the mixture to precipitate the reacted insulin. Theprecipitated material is then centrifuged and the supernatant decantedinto a second beaker while the precipitate cake is set aside. To thesupernatant solution, another 8×100 μl aliquots of a 18.9% HCl:watersolution are added dropwise over the surface of the mixture to obtain asecond precipitate of reacted insulin. This second precipitate iscentrifuged and the supernatant is discarded. The combined centrifugecakes from the two precipitation steps are washed once with acetonefollowed by drying under vacuum at room temperature to yield the crudepowder which typically contains greater than 90% of the desiredBOC2-Fmoc-1 product.

A preparative reverse phase HPLC method is used to isolate the pureBOC2-Fmoc-1-insulin from the crude powder. Buffer A is deionized watercontaining 0.1% TFA and Buffer B is acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA.The crude powder is dissolved at 25 mg/ml in a 70% A/30% B mixture andsyringe filtered prior to injection on the column. Before purification,the column (Waters SymmetryPrep C18, 7 um, 19×150 mm) is equilibrated at15 ml/minutes with a 70% A/30% B mobile phase using a Waters DeltraPrep600 system. Approximately 5 ml of the crude powder solution is injectedonto the column at a flow rate of 15 ml/minutes over the course of 5minutes after which a linear gradient is employed from 70% A/30% B to62% A/38% B over the course of the next 3.5 minutes and held there foran additional 2.5 minutes. Using this method, the desired BOC2-Fmoc-1peak elutes at approximately 5 minutes after the Fmoc1-insulin startingmaterial. Once collected, the solution is rotovapped to removeacetonitrile and lyophilized to obtain pureBOC2(A1,B1)-Fmoc(B29)-insulin powder. Identity is verified by LC-MS (HTLaboratories, San Diego, Calif.) and site of conjugation determined byN-terminal sequencing (Western Analytical, St. Louis, Mo.).

c. NH₂—(B29)-BOC2(A1,B1)-insulin

The Fmoc protecting group of the BOC2(A1,B1)-Fmoc(B29) is removed bydissolving the lyophilized powder obtained according to the previousstep in 20% piperidine in dimethylformamide (DMF) for 30 minutes at 4 Cfollowed by 10× superdilution in 25 mM HEPES pH 8.2 buffer containing0.150 M NaCl. The pH is adjusted to between 7.0 and 8.0 using NaOHsolution after which the material is passed through a Biogel P2 columnto remove Fmoc, DMF, and any other contaminating salts. TheNH₂—(B29)-BOC2(A1,B1)-insulin is lyophilized into a powder if needed orused directly in aqueous solution if desired.

Example 17 Synthesis of NH₂—B29-BOC2(A1,B1)-insulin conjugates

All of the multivalent-ligand-drug conjugates described in previousexamples using the NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin of Example 8 may beprepared instead using the NH₂—B29-BOC2(A1,B1)-insulin of Example 16.All of the resulting conjugates will possess the same MW and degree ofsubstitution characteristics, but the site of conjugation to the insulinmolecule will be at the epsilon B29 amino group and not the N-terminalPhe-B1. This can be confirmed by N-terminal sequencing.

Example 18 Amine-Functionalized Drug Conjugation with MultivalentActivated Esters in Organic Solvent (Drug Added Last)

This example describes an alternative to the method described in Example11 in which the drug is added to the framework before the ligand(s). Inthis example the ligand(s) are added to the framework before the drug.

A framework containing N terminal activated esters is dissolved at 60 mMin 1 ml of anhydrous DMSO followed by the addition of 400 ul (excess) oftriethylamine (TEA). The solution is stirred rapidly for 10 minutes atroom temperature. In parallel, a 122 mM solution of ligand is preparedin an appropriate volume of anhydrous DMSO. Once dissolved, enoughligand solution is added dropwise over the course often minutes toprovide a number of reactive equivalents equal to exactly the number ofactivated ester groups on the framework, N, minus one. For example, ifthere are N=3 activated ester groups on the framework, then (1×(3−1)×60mM/122 mM)=0.98 ml of ligand solution are added. If there are N=4activated ester groups on the framework, then (1×(4−1)×60 mM/122 mM)=1.5ml of ligand solution are added, and so on. After the ligand solution isadded, the solution is stirred for two hours at room temperature.

The amine-bearing drug is then dissolved separately in 7.5 ml ofanhydrous DMSO at a concentration of 8.1 mM. Once dissolved, the entiredrug solution is added over the course of one minute to theframework/DMSO/ligand/TEA solution followed by room temperature mixingfor an additional two hours to ensure complete reaction.

The resulting solution is then superdiluted by 10× into a 20 mM pH 5.0HEPES buffered saline solution containing 0.150 M NaCl followed by pHadjustment with dilute HCl to a final pH of 8.0. The aqueous solution isfirst purified by size exclusion using an appropriate solid phase forthe desired separation of conjugated and unconjugated materials. Thesolution passing through the column void volume is then concentratedusing an appropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane to approximately10 ml. This solution is further purified to obtain the desired productusing preparative reverse phase HPLC on a Waters SymmetryPrep C18, 7 umcolumn, 19×150 mm. Buffer A is deionized water containing 0.1% TFA andBuffer B is acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA. Before purification, thecolumn is equilibrated at 15 ml/minutes with a 80% A/20% B mobile phaseusing a Waters DeltraPrep 600 sytem. Approximately 5 ml of the crudesolution is injected onto the column over the course of 2 minutes at aflow rate of 15 ml/minutes after which a linear gradient is employedfrom 80% A/20% B to 75% A/25% B over the next 5 minutes followed by aslower linear gradient from 75% A/25% B to 62% A/38% B over the next 22minutes. The retention time of the desired peak will vary depending onthe drug, framework, and ligand used. Once collected, the solution isrotovapped to remove acetonitrile and lyophilized to obtain pureconjugate whose identity may be verified by LC-MS (HT Laboratories, SanDiego, Calif.).

Example 19 B29-Insulin Conjugates with Multivalent Saccharides Producedin Organic Solvent from Unprotected Insulin

This example makes use of the fact that in unprotected insulin, theLys-B29 epsilon-amino moiety is the most reactive amine, followed by theA1 and then the B1. Therefore, when unprotected insulin is used as theamine-containing drug the resulting conjugate should be predominantlysubstituted at the Lys-B29 position. Using the method described inExample 18 and recombinant human insulin (MW=5808 Da, Sigma Aldrich, St.Louis, Mo.) as the amine-containing drug, the following insulinconjugates were prepared using the TSAT-C6 activated ester frameworkpurchased from Molecular Biosciences (Boulder, Colo.). The AEM and AETMwere synthesized as described previously. The appropriately sized sizeexclusion medium was Biogel P2 (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.),and the appropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane molecular weightcutoff was 3 kDa.

Frame- AE- MW Frame- work sugar Purity (LC- Sugar/ Conjugate work MWLigand MW (HPLC) MS) Insulin I-7: TSAT- 822 AEM 223 93% 6729 2.0TSAT-C6- C6 AEM-2 (B29) I-6: TSAT- 822 AETM 547 95% 7378 2.0 TSAT-C6- C6AETM-2 (B29)

According to N-terminal sequencing, approximately 85% of theAEM-containing framework was conjugated to insulin via the Lys-B29 andapproximately 87% of the AETM-containing framework was conjugated toinsulin via the Lys-B29.

Example 20 Amine-Functionalized Drug Conjugation with MultivalentActivated Esters in Aqueous Solvent (Drug Added Last)

This example describes an alternative to the method described in Example18 in which the reaction is performed in aqueous solvent instead oforganic solvent.

The framework containing N terminal activated esters is dissolved at 60mM in 6.25 ml of anhydrous DMSO followed by the addition of 2 ml(excess) of triethylamine (TEA). The solution is stirred rapidly for 10minutes at room temperature. In parallel, a 448 mM solution of ligand isprepared in an appropriate volume of anhydrous DMSO. Once dissolved,enough ligand solution is added dropwise over the course often minutesto provide a number of reactive equivalents equal to 1.5 times thenumber of activated ester groups on the framework, N, minus one. Forexample, if there are N=3 activated ester groups on the framework, then(1.5×(3−1)×60 mM/448 mM)×6.25 ml=2.5 ml of ligand solution are added. Ifthere are N=4 activated ester groups on the framework, then(1.5×(4−1)×60 mM/448 mM)×6.25 ml=3.8 ml of ligand solution are added,and so on. After the ligand solution is added, the solution is stirredfor one hour at room temperature.

The amine-bearing drug is then dissolved separately at 17.2 mM in 2.67ml of a 0.1M, pH 11 sodium carbonate buffer and the pH subsequentlyadjusted to 10.8 with 1.0N sodium hydroxide. Once dissolved, the entireframework/DMSO/ligand/TEA solution is added dropwise over the course of75 minutes to the drug/carbonate buffer solution. During the addition,the pH of the resulting mixture is adjusted every 5 minutes to 10.8 ifnecessary using dilute HCl or NaOH. The solution is allowed to stir foran additional 15 minutes after the dropwise addition to ensure completereaction.

The resulting solution is then superdiluted by 10× into a 20 mM pH 5.0HEPES buffered saline solution containing 0.150 M NaCl followed by pHadjustment with dilute HCl to a final pH of 8.0. The aqueous solution isfirst purified by size exclusion using an appropriate solid phase forthe desired separation of conjugated and unconjugated materials. Thesolution passing through the column void volume is then concentratedusing an appropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane to approximately40 ml. This solution is further purified to obtain the desired productusing preparative reverse phase HPLC on a Waters SymmetryPrep C18, 7 um,19×150 mm column. Buffer A is deionized water containing 0.1% TFA andBuffer B is acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA. Before purification, thecolumn is equilibrated at 15 ml/minutes with a 80% A/20% B mobile phaseusing a Waters DeltraPrep 600 sytem. Approximately 5 ml of the crudesolution is injected onto the column over the course of 2 minutes at aflow rate of 15 ml/minutes after which a linear gradient is employedfrom 80% A/20% B to 75% A/25% B over the next 5 minutes followed by aslower linear gradient from 75% A/25% B to 62% A/38% B over the next 22minutes. The retention time of the desired peak will vary depending onthe drug, framework, and ligand used. Once collected, the solution isrotovapped to remove acetonitrile and lyophilized to obtain pureconjugate whose identity may be verified by LC-MS (HT Laboratories, SanDiego, Calif.).

Example 21 B29-AEM-2-Insulin Conjugate Synthesized in Aqueous Solventfrom Unprotected Insulin

This example makes use of the fact that in unprotected insulin, theLys-B29 epsilon-amino moiety is the most reactive amine, followed by theA1 and then the B1. Therefore, when unprotected insulin is used as theamine-containing drug the resulting conjugate should be predominantlysubstituted at the Lys-B29 position. Using the method described inExample 20 and recombinant human insulin (MW=5808, Sigma Aldrich, St.Louis, Mo.) as the amine-containing drug, an AEM-2 insulin conjugate wasprepared using the TSAT-C6 activated ester framework purchased fromMolecular Biosciences (Boulder, Colo.). The AEM used as the insulinanalog was synthesized as described previously. The appropriately sizedsize exclusion medium was Biogel P2 (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules,Calif.), and the appropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane molecularweight cutoff was 3 kD. The final product (95% pure by HPLC) was foundto have the desired MW of 6729 g/mol (LC-MS), representing a total of2.0 AEM molecules conjugated per insulin, with greater than 85% of theconjugate molecules conjugated at the Lys-B29 site (N-terminalsequencing).

Example 22 Generalized Amine-Functionalized Drug Conjugation withAldehyde-Containing Framework

a. Framework Functionalized with More than One Ligand and One TerminalAldehyde

First, a framework containing N terminal activated esters is dissolvedat 60 mM in 27.0 ml of anhydrous DMSO followed by the addition of 800 ul(excess) of triethylamine (TEA). The solution is stirred rapidly for 10minutes at room temperature. A stock solution of amine-bearing diethylacetal is prepared at 580 mM in 5 ml of anhydrous DMSO. Once dissolved,2.9 ml of the diethyl acetal solution are added dropwise over the courseof 5 minutes to the framework/DMSO/TEA solution followed by roomtemperature mixing for an additional 15 minutes. The remaining activatedesters are then reacted with amine-functionalized ligands in thefollowing manner. A 370 mM solution of ligand is prepared in anappropriate volume of dry DMSO. Once dissolved, enough solution is addedto provide a number of reactive equivalents equal to 1.5 times thenumber of initial activated ester groups, N, minus one. For example, ifthere are N=3 initial activated ester groups per framework, then(1.5×(3−1)×60 mM× 27/370 mM)=13 ml of ligand solution are added. Ifthere are N=4 initial activated ester groups per framework, then(1.5×(4−1)×60 mM× 27/370 mM)=20 ml of ligand solution are added, and soon. After the ligand solution is added, the solution is stirred for anadditional hour and 45 minutes at room temperature to ensure completereaction. After reaction, the entire solution is diluted by a factoroften with diethyl ether, mixed vigorously, and centrifuged to separatethe dense bottom phase containing the desired material from thesupernatant. After discarding the supernatant, the same volume ofethanol is added to generate a solid precipitated mass. Aftercentrifuging and discarding the supernatant, the material is washedextensively with ethanol and ether and then dried under vacuum to yieldthe crude framework containing multiple ligands and a diethyl acetalgroup.

b. Conjugation of Amine-Functionalized Drug with Terminal Aldehyde

Once dried, the aldehyde group is generated from the diethyl acetal bydissolving the collected material in 60 ml of DI water with the solutionpH adjusted to 1.0. The solution is mixed for 30 minutes after which 6ml of a 200 mM HEPES pH 8.2 buffer containing 1.5 M NaCl is added andthe solution pH adjusted to 6.5 using dilute NaOH solution. 48 mmol ofthe amine containing drug are added to the solution and the pHreadjusted to 6.5 if necessary. Separately, a stock solution of reducingagent is prepared by dissolving 1.5 g of sodium cyanoborohydride (SigmaAldrich, St. Louis, Mo.) in 15 ml of a 20 mM HEPES pH 7.0 buffercontaining 0.150 M NaCl and the pH carefully adjusted to 6.5 with diluteHCl solution. 13 ml of the cyanoborohydride stock solution are added tothe drug/framework/aldehyde solution and allowed to react overnight atroom temperature.

The resulting aqueous solution is first purified by size exclusion usingan appropriate solid phase for the desired separation of conjugated andunconjugated materials. The solution passing through the column voidvolume is then concentrated using an appropriately sized ultrafiltrationmembrane to approximately 10 ml. This solution is further purified toobtain the desired product using preparative reverse phase HPLC on aWaters SymmetryPrep C18, 7 um column, 19×150 mm. Buffer A is deionizedwater containing 0.1% TFA and Buffer B is acetonitrile containing 0.1%TFA. Before purification, the column is equilibrated at 15 ml/minuteswith a 80% A/20% B mobile phase using a Waters DeltraPrep 600 system.Approximately 5 ml of the crude solution is injected onto the columnover the course of 2 minutes at a flow rate of 15 ml/minutes after whicha linear gradient is employed from 80% A/20% B to 75% A/25% B over thenext 5 minutes followed by a slower linear gradient from 75% A/25% B to62% A/38% B over the next 22 minutes. The retention time of the desiredpeak will vary depending on the drug, framework, and ligand used. Oncecollected, the solution is rotovapped to remove acetonitrile andlyophilized to obtain pure conjugate whose identity may be verified byLC-MS (HT Laboratories, San Diego, Calif.).

Example 23 AEM-2-Framework Containing a Terminal Reactive Aldehyde Groupand Subsequent Insulin Conjugation at B1 a. TSAT Functionalized with 2AEM and 1 Aminobutyraldehyde Diethyl Acetal (ABDA)

This material was synthesized according to the method described inExample 22a using TSAT (Molecular Biosciences, Boulder, Colo.) as themultivalent activated ester framework and 4-aminobutyraldehyde diethylacetal (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.) as the amine-bearing diethylacetal. AEM (MW=223 g/mol), synthesized as described previously was usedas the ligand.

b. Conjugation of TSA T-AEM-2-ABDA with NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-Insulin

This material was synthesized using the method described in Example 22band the TSAT-AEM-2-ABDA produced in (a) above along with theamine-bearing drug, NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin (MW=6,008 g/mol),synthesized according to Example 8. The appropriately sized sizeexclusion medium was Biogel P2 (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.),and the appropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane molecular weightcutoff was 3 kD. Because the starting NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulinmaterial only possesses one free amine group at the Phe-B1 terminus, thePhe-B1 is the only site of insulin conjugation to the framework. The BOCprotecting groups were removed by dissolving the lyophilized powder in90% TFA/10% anisole for one hour at 4 C followed by 10× superdilution in25 mM HEPES pH 8.2 buffer containing 0.150 M NaCl. The pH was adjustedto between 7.0 and 8.0 using NaOH solution after which the material waspassed through a Biogel P2 column to remove anisole, BOC and other lowMW byproducts of deprotection, as well as any other contaminating salts.The deprotected, purified aqueous conjugate solution was thenconcentrated using Amicon 3K membranes (Millipore, Billerica, Mass.) tothe desired level and stored at 4 C until needed.

The final product (95% pure by HPLC) was found to have the desired MW of6462 g/mol (LC-MS), representing a total of 2.0 AEM molecules conjugatedper insulin, 99% of which were conjugated at the Phe-B1 site (N-terminalsequencing).

Example 24 AEM-3-Framework Containing a Terminal Reactive Aldehyde Groupand Subsequent Insulin Conjugation at B1 a. TSPE Functionalized with 3AEM and 1 Aminobutyraldehyde Diethyl Acetal (ABDA)

This material was synthesized according to the method described inExample 22a using TSPE (Molecular Biosciences, Boulder, Colo.) as themultivalent activated ester framework and 4-aminobutyraldehyde diethylacetal (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.) as the amine-bearing diethylacetal. AEM (MW=223 g/mol), synthesized as described previously, wasused as the ligand.

b. Conjugation of TSPE-AEM-3-ABDA with NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-Insulin

This material was synthesized using the method described in Example 22band the TSPE-AEM-3-ABDA produced in (a) above along with theamine-bearing drug, NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin (MW=6,008 g/mol),synthesized according to Example 8. The appropriately sized sizeexclusion medium was Biogel P2 (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.),and the appropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane molecular weightcutoff was 3 kD. Because the starting NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulinmaterial only possesses one free amine group at the Phe-B1 terminus, thePhe-B1 is the only site of insulin conjugation to the framework. The BOCprotecting groups are removed by dissolving the lyophilized powder in90% TFA/10% anisole for one hour at 4 C followed by 10× superdilution in25 mM HEPES pH 8.2 buffer containing 0.150 M NaCl. The pH was adjustedto between 7.0 and 8.0 using NaOH solution after which the material waspassed through a Biogel P2 column to remove anisole, BOC and other lowMW byproducts of deprotection, as well as any other contaminating salts.The deprotected, purified aqueous conjugate solution was thenconcentrated using Amicon 3K membranes (Millipore, Billerica, Mass.) tothe desired level and stored at 4 C until needed.

The final product (95% pure by HPLC) was found to have the desired MW of6897 g/mol (LC-MS), representing a total of 3.0 AEM molecules conjugatedper insulin, 99% of which were conjugated at the Phe-B1 site (N-terminalsequencing).

Example 25 AEM-3-Scaffold Containing a Terminal Reactive Aldehyde Groupand Subsequent Insulin Conjugation at B1 Using Unprotected Insulin a.TSPE Functionalized with 3 AEM and 1 Aminobutyraldehyde Diethyl Acetal(ABDA)

This material is synthesized according to the method described inExample 22a using TSPE (Molecular Biosciences, Boulder, Colo.) as themultivalent activated ester scaffold and 4-aminobutyraldehyde diethylacetal (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.) as the amine-bearing diethylacetal. AEM (MW=223 g/mol), synthesized as described previously, wasused as the ligand.

b. Conjugation of TSPE-AEM-3-ABDA with NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-Insulin

This material was synthesized using the method described in Example 22band the TSPE-AEM-3-ABDA produced in (a) above along with theamine-bearing drug, unmodified insulin (MW=5,808 g/mol, Sigma-Aldrich,St. Louis, Mo.). The appropriately sized size exclusion medium wasBiogel P2 (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.), and theappropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane molecular weight cutoff was3 kD. Although the starting unprotected insulin material possesses threefree amine groups, the Phe-B1 is the predominant site of insulinconjugation to the scaffold due to the fact that the Phe-B1 (pKa˜6.8) isthe most reactive amine at pH 6.5. The lyophilized powder was dissolvedin 25 mM HEPES pH 8.2 buffer containing 0.150 M NaCl. The pH wasadjusted to between 7.0 and 8.0 using NaOH solution after which thematerial was then concentrated using Amicon 3K membranes (Millipore,Billerica, Mass.) to the desired level and stored at 4 C until needed.

The final product (95% pure by HPLC) was found to have the desired MW of6897 g/mol (LC-MS), representing a total of 3.0 AEM molecules conjugatedper insulin, >85% of which were conjugated at the Phe-B1 site(N-terminal sequencing).

Example 26 Mixed Framework Chemistry and Corresponding SeparateConjugation of Drug and Ligands

Succinimidyl-3,5-dimaleimidophenyl benzoate (SDMB) can be purchased fromMolecular Biosciences (Boulder, Colo.) and used in the following examplewithout further purification. SDMB is dissolved at 60 mM in 1.0 ml ofanhydrous DMSO followed by the addition of 400 ul (excess) oftriethylamine (TEA). The solution is stirred rapidly for 10 minutes atroom temperature. The amine-bearing drug is then dissolved separately in7.5 ml of anhydrous DMSO at a concentration of 8.1 mM. Once dissolved,the entire SDMB solution is added dropwise over the course often minutesto the DMSO-drug solution followed by room temperature mixing for anadditional two hours to ensure complete reaction.

The resulting solution is then superdiluted by 10× into a 20 mM pH 5.0HEPES buffered saline solution containing 0.150 M NaCl followed by pHadjustment with dilute HCl to a final pH of 8.0. The aqueous solution isfirst purified by size exclusion using an appropriate solid phase forthe desired separation of conjugated and unconjugated materials. Thesolution passing through the column void volume is then concentratedusing an appropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane to approximately10 ml.

Separately, 6.0 mmol of an amine-containing ligand is dissolved in a 20mM pH 8.2 HEPES buffered saline solution containing 0.150 M NaCl at aconcentration of 450 mM. To this solution, 6.6 mmol of iminothiolane(Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.) is added and allowed to react at pH 8.2for 30 minutes at room temperature to convert the amine-terminal groupsto terminal sulfhydryl groups. The resulting material is mixed with the10 ml solution of drug-framework-di-maleimide conjugate produced in theprevious step. The maleimide groups are allowed to react with theindicator-anolog sulfydryl groups at pH 8.2 for 2 hours to ensurecomplete reaction. The resulting solution is then purified by sizeexclusion using an appropriate solid phase for the desired separation ofconjugated and unconjugated materials. The solution passing through thecolumn void volume is then concentrated using an appropriately sizedultrafiltration membrane to approximately 10 ml.

Finally, this solution is further purified to obtain the desired productusing preparative reverse phase HPLC on a Waters SymmetryPrep C18, 7 umcolumn, 19×150 mm. Buffer A is deionized water containing 0.1% TFA andBuffer B is acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA. Before purification, thecolumn is equilibrated at 15 ml/minutes with a 80% A/20% B mobile phaseusing a Waters DeltraPrep 600 sytem. Approximately 5 ml of the crudesolution is injected onto the column over the course of 2 minutes at aflow rate of 15 ml/minutes after which a linear gradient is employedfrom 80% A/20% B to 75% A/25% B over the next 5 minutes followed by aslower linear gradient from 75% A/25% B to 62% A/38% B over the next 22minutes. The retention time of the desired peak will vary depending onthe drug, framework, and ligand used. Once collected, the solution isrotovapped to remove acetonitrile and lyophilized to obtain pureconjugate whose identity may be verified by LC-MS (HT Laboratories, SanDiego, Calif.).

Example 27 Insulin-Conjugated to Aminoethyl Saccharides Using MixedFramework Chemistry

Using the method described in Example 26 and the amine-bearing drug,NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin (MW=6,008 g/mol), synthesized according toExample 8, the following specific drug conjugates are obtained. AEM(MW=223 g/mol), AEBM (MW=385 g/mol), and AETM (MW=547 g/mol) aresynthesized as previously described and used as the ligands in thesynthesis. The appropriately sized size exclusion medium is Biogel P2(Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.), and the appropriately sizedultrafiltration membrane molecular weight cutoff is 3 kD.

In all cases, the BOC protecting groups are removed by dissolving thelyophilized powder obtained according to Example 26 in 90% TFA/10%anisole for one hour at 4 C followed by 10× superdilution in 25 mM HEPESpH 8.2 buffer containing 0.150 M NaCl. The pH is adjusted to between 7.0and 8.0 using NaOH solution after which the material is passed through aBiogel P2 column to remove anisole, BOC and other low MW byproducts ofdeprotection, as well as any other contaminating salts. The deprotected,purified aqueous conjugate solution is then concentrated using Amicon 3Kmembranes (Millipore, Billerica, Mass.) to approximately 58 U ofinsulin/ml (based on A280 measurements) and stored at 4 C until needed.Because the starting NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin material only possessesone free amine group at the Phe-B1 terminus, the Phe-B1 will be the onlysite of insulin conjugation to the framework. This can be verified ineach deprotected final product by N-terminal sequencing.

Synthesis Conditions AE- Expected Conjugate AE- iminothiolaneCharacterization sugar intermediate MW Sugar/ Ligand MW MW (LC-MS)Insulin AEM 223 360 6822 2.0 AEM AEBM 385 522 7146 2.0 AEBM AETM 547 6847470 2.0 AETM

Example 28 Generalized Click Chemistry for Drug Conjugation withComplementary Frameworks

A framework (8.3 mmol) containing at least one amino functionality andone or more terminal alkyne groups is taken into THF (40 mL), water (40mL) and stirred into solution. An azidoethyl group-bearing drug (10.51mmole) is added followed by copper sulfate (500 mg, 2.0 mmole) andsodium ascorbate (400 mg, 2.0 mmole). The resulting mixture is stirredat 55-60 C (oil bath) for 6 hours, cooled to room temperature, stirredovernight and concentrated under vacuum to one half volume and filteredthru a micro-glass filter. The filtrate is loaded on a resin column(Dowex 50w 50×4-100) and eluted with water (6×75 mL) until neutral. Thecolumn is then eluted with 15% ammonium hydroxide (10×75 mL) and thefractions positive to ninhydrin are pooled and concentrated to a glassyfoam.

Example 29 Conjugates Prepared Using Natural Insulins from Other SpeciesSuch as Bovine and Porcine

Insulins from other species which contain at least one reactive aminefunctionality (e.g., bovine and porcine insulin) may be coupled usingany of the methods used to conjugate human insulin. Those skilled in theart will appreciate that the molecular weights of the resultingconjugates made from bovine or porcine insulins will differ from thosemade from human insulin by the amounts listed in the following table.

Molecular Weight Difference in MW Type of Insulin (g/mol) human insulin(g/mol) Human insulin 5808 — Porcine insulin 5778 −30 Bovine insulin5733 −75

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the resultingconjugates made from bovine or porcine insulin may have chromatographicpeak retention times that differ slightly from those conjugates madefrom human insulin, due to the small differences in structures betweenthe insulins.

Example 30 Conjugates Prepared with Insulin Analogs Such as Lispro,Aspart, Glulysine, Glargine, and Detemir

All known insulin analogs which contain at least one reactive aminefunctionality (e.g., lispro, aspart, glulisine, glargine, and detemir)may be coupled using any of the methods used to conjugate human insulin.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the molecular weights ofthe resulting conjugates made from insulin analogs will differ fromthose made from human insulin by the amounts listed in the followingtable.

Molecular Weight Difference in MW Type of Insulin (g/mol) human insulin(g/mol) Human insulin 5808 — Insulin lispro 5808 — Insulin asp art 5832+24 Insulin glulisine 5823 +15 Insulin glargine 6063 +255 Insulindetemir 5913 +105

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the resultingconjugates made from insulin analogs may have chromatographic peakretention times that differ slightly from those conjugates made fromhuman insulin, due to the small differences in structures between theinsulins.

The use of insulin glulisine (which does not contain a B29 lysine, butrather a B3 lysine) will give predominantly B3 conjugates when usingunprotected insulin glulisine. However, if B1-insulin glulisineconjugates are desired, then BOC-(A1,B3)-insulin glulisine is firstsynthesized using the same protocol as BOC-(A1,B29)-human insulin asdescribed in Example 8.

Example 31 Conjugates Prepared with Peptidic Insulin SecretagogueConjugates

Peptidic insulin secretagogues (e.g., without limitation GLP-1 or theGLP-1 analog exanitide) which contain an N-terminal amine functionalitymay be coupled using any of the methods used to conjugate insulin.

II. In Vitro Assays of Exemplary Conjugates

This second set of examples describes various experiments investigatingthe in vitro properties of some exemplary conjugates.

Example 32 Synthesis of Insulin-Glycogen Conjugates

This comparative example describes the synthesis of an insulin-glycogenconjugate according to U.S. Patent Application Publication No.20070099820. Briefly, 1 gm of commercially available, unpurified oysterglycogen (Type II, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.) is dissolved indeionized water at a concentration of 10 mg/ml. Solid CNBr is added tothe resulting solution at a CNBr to glycogen mass ratio of 0.68 and thepH maintained constant at 10.7+/−0.2 using 3N sodium hydroxide (NaOH)solution. After stirring for 15 minutes, another equal mass of solidCNBr equal is added and the pH maintained constant at 10.7+/−0.2 whilestirring for 45 minutes. Insulin is then added to the solution at aninsulin to glycogen mass ratio of 0.60 and the pH adjusted to 9.15 usingsolid sodium bicarbonate. The solution is stirred overnight,ultrafiltered exhaustively against deionized water using a 50 kDa MWCOpolyethersulfone disc membrane filter (Millipore, Bedford, Mass.), andlyophilized. The resulting powder is then purified from unconjugatedinsulin by gel filtration HPLC (Waters, Milford, Mass.) using a 1 Macetic acid mobile phase over a Superdex™30 HiLoad 16/60 (AmershamBiosciences, Piscataway, N.J.) packed column. The insulin glycogenfraction is then lyophilized to obtain the conjugate as a pure whitepowder. The resulting purified material contained 1.0 wt % of insulinper insulin-glycogen conjugate as measured using amino acid analysis(UCLA Biopolymers Laboratory, Los Angeles, Calif.).

Example 33 Liquid Chromatography Analysis

This example describes the differences between the RP-HPLC profiles ofinsulin-glycogen synthesized according to Example 32 and an exemplaryconjugate synthesized according to the present invention. 100 ul of a 5mg/ml solution of insulin-glycogen synthesized according to Example 32and 100 ul of a 1 mg/ml solution of exemplary conjugate were injectedseparately onto a Waters Symmetry C8 5 um column (4.6 mm×250 mm),equilibrated with a 80% Water/20% Acetonitrile (CH₃CN) mobile phase(each containing 0.1% TFA). The exemplary conjugate used in this studywas synthesized using TSAT-C6 as the framework, AEM as the ligand, andNH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin as the drug.

The samples were eluted at 1.0 ml/minutes using the following gradientmethod: 0-5 minutes—constant 80% Water/20% CH₃CN, 5-35 minutes—lineargradient to 50% Water/50% CH₃CN. The elution profiles in FIG. 1 show asingle spike for the exemplary conjugate indicating a single chemicallydistinct species as compared to a broad and heterogenous elution profilefor the insulin-glycogen conjugate, indicating a broad distribution ofdifferent chemical and/or molecular weight entities.

Example 34 Molecular Weight Distribution Analysis

This example describes the difference in MW and MW distribution betweenthe insulin-glycogen synthesized according to Example 32 and the sameexemplary conjugate. The MW and MW distribution of the insulin-glycogenconjugate was determined by injecting 1 ml of a 25 mg/ml solution in pH7 HEPES buffered saline onto an Ultrahydrogel Size Exclusion Column(Waters Corporation, Millford, Mass.) equilibrated with HEPES bufferedsaline. The column was eluted over the course of 30 minutes at 0.5 mlper min, and the elution profile was measured as an absorbance at 280nm. In separate experiments using the same protocol, dextran MWstandards of 1000, 5000, 12000, 25000, 50000, 80000, 150000, 270000, and410000 g/mol (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.) were injected to establisha calibration curve of MW versus retention time. Based on thecalibration curve and the elution profile of the insulin-glycogenconjugate, the average MW was determined to be 500,000 g/mol with 67% ofthe distribution eluting over the broad range of 250,000 to 1,000,000g/mol (data not shown). In contrast, the exemplary conjugate wasdetermined to have just a single MW of exactly 6,730 g/mol as determinedby LC/MS (HT Laboratories, San Diego, Calif.) (data not shown).

Example 35 Chemical and Physical Stability of Conjugates

This example compares the stability of an exemplary conjugate with thatof unconjugated insulin under accelerated conditions according to themethod described in Hinds et al. (Bioconj. Chem. 11:195-201, 2000) at 37C and a mechanical agitation rate of 150 strokes/min. Pharmaceuticalgrade recombinant human insulin (RHI) was selected as the control forthe accelerated stability study. Holcombe et al. (Diabetes Care27:1241-1242, 2004) describes that under non-accelerated conditions RHIstability is maintained for at least 30 days at room temperature (RT)and considerably longer when refrigerated. FIG. 2 shows the results fromthe aggregation stability assay for RHI and two exemplary conjugates inpH 7.4 phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at 50 U/ml. In all cases, the %remaining in solution was determined by centrifuging (4500×g, 5 min) thesolution at a given time point, measuring the A280 of the supernatant,and dividing the supernatant A280 by that of the original startingsolution. Conjugate I-1 (see FIG. 45) was synthesized using TSAT-C6 asthe framework, AEM as the ligand, and NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin as thedrug. Conjugate I-16 (see FIG. 45) was synthesized using TSPE as theframework, AEM as the ligand, and NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin as thedrug.

After 48 hours of continuous agitation at 37 C, less than 6% of the RHIremained stable in solution, while the majority of the RHI precipitatedout as insoluble aggregates. After the same amount of time, bothconjugates remained substantially more stable, as 96%-99% of theconjugates remained intact and soluble in the PBS solution. The dataconclusively show that the conjugates are significantly more stable thanRHI under these conditions.

RP-HPLC was used to assess the chemical stability of the conjugates (seeFIG. 3 a). After 48 hours of accelerated stability the conjugatesolutions were analyzed using a C8-reverse phase column using awater-acetonitrile elution gradient. The retention times of the pre- andpost-stability conjugate samples are shown along with the percentage ofunconjugated (free) insulin and desamido insulin found in the resultingLC traces. No detectable amounts of free insulin or desamido wereobserved, indicating that (i) the covalent linkage between thesaccharides and the insulin molecule is stable, and (ii) no significantchemical degradation of the conjugate occurs during the acceleratedstability test (AST). Prior to and in parallel with the AST, theconjugate was also subjected to a 90-day non-accelerated stability testthat included daily thermal cycling between 4° C. and RT. At theconclusion of the parallel study, RP-HPLC demonstrated that theconjugate was still chemically and physically stable (data not shown).

Further confirmation of the conjugate chemical stability in HEPES bufferis provided from the LC-MS data obtained before and after subjecting theconjugate to the AST. Interestingly, the 48 hour AST conjugate samplesin PBS showed that substantial degradation had occurred, while the 48hour AST conjugate samples in HEPES buffer were completely intact andstable (see FIG. 3 b). Conjugate I-7 stored in HEPES has a MW of 6730 Dabefore and after the AST, demonstrating that both mannose residues, theconjugate framework, and insulin are all chemically unchanged and quitestable. To ensure conjugate stability, all buffers used for storage, invitro testing, and in vivo testing contain HEPES as the buffering agent.In certain embodiments, the present disclosure provides a compositioncomprising an inventive conjugate in a HEPES buffer.

The LC-MS data greatly enhances FDA manufacturing regulatory compliance,as the LC-MS test can readily act as the chemical identity assay of theconjugate. Since the drug (e.g., insulin), conjugate framework, andconjugate all have discrete molecular weights, the resulting ligandratio can be readily calculated by subtracting the conjugate frameworkMW from the conjugate MW to give the remaining mass due to thesaccharide groups. In the case of conjugate I-7, the mannose:insulinmolar ratio is calculated as exactly 2.0.

Example 36 Functional Stability of Conjugates

After demonstrating that the conjugate was chemically and physicallystable, a 72 hour AST conjugate was assessed for its subcutaneousbioactivity in vivo vs. fresh conjugate using Sprague-Dawley rats at 5U/kg (see FIG. 4).

Analysis of the 72 hour HEPES AST conjugate data showed that the time toreach the glucose nadir (T_(nadir)) was 60 minutes, and the time toreturn to 70% of the fasting blood glucose values (T_(70%BG)) was lessthan 128±15 min. A comparison of fresh conjugate vs. 72 hour ASTconjugate bioactivity curves at each timepoint using the student t-test(n=4 for each group) showed no significant differences (allp-values >0.21). These results were within specified targets for theformulation, indicating that preserved conjugate chemical stabilitytranslates into preserved in vivo functional performance.

III. In Vivo Assays of Exemplary Conjugates

This third set of examples describes various experiments investigatingthe in vivo properties of some exemplary conjugates.

Example 37 Conjugate Bioactivity Versus RHI and Dextran or GlycogenConjugates

(a) Insulin-Dextran Bioactivity

This comparative example evaluates the in vivo pharmacodynamic profileof subcutaneously administered insulin-dextran (Sigma-Aldrich, MW˜70K).As shown below, the insulin-dextran conjugates synthesized according toU.S. Patent Publication No. 20040202719 act relatively slowly aftersubcutaneous injection, because the high MW of the conjugate polymersignificantly hinders the absorption rate into systemic circulation.Insulin-dextran was synthesized using a modified cyanogen bromide (CNBr)coupling reaction. Briefly, 500 mg of dextran (MW=70K, Sigma-Aldrich)was dissolved in 50 ml of deionized water. 56 mg of solid CNBr was addedto the resulting solution and the pH was maintained at 10.7±0.2 using 5N NaOH solution. After stirring for 15 min, another 56 mg of solid CNBrwas added and the pH was maintained at 10.7±0.2 while stirring for 45minutes. 300 mg of recombinant human insulin (RHI) was then added to thesolution, and the pH was adjusted to 9.15 using solid sodiumbicarbonate. The solution was stirred overnight, ultrafilteredexhaustively against DI water using a 10K MWCO polyethersulfone discmembrane filter (Millipore, Bedford, Mass.), and lyophilized. Theresulting powder was then purified from unconjugated insulin by highperformance liquid chromatography (Waters, Milford, Mass.) using a 1 Macetic acid mobile phase over a Superdex™ 75 packed column (AmershamBiosciences, Piscataway, N.J.). The insulin-dextran fraction was thenlyophilized to obtain the conjugate as a pure powder. The degree ofinsulin conjugation was % (w/w) as determined by amino acid analysis(UCLA Biopolymers Laboratory, Los Angeles, Calif.).

Subcutaneous injections of the insulin-dextran were administered using0.25 ml of a sterilized 1×PBS solution (20 U of equivalent insulin/ml)behind the neck of fasted normal non-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley,200-250 g, n=4). Blood samples were collected via tail vein bleeding at−15 and 0 minutes, and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240, 300 and 360minutes after injection. Blood glucose values were measured usingcommercially available test strips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories,Abbott Park, Ill.). As shown in FIG. 5, the times to reach the glucosenadir (T_(nadir)) concentration was found to be about 3 hours afterinjection, and the serum glucose levels remain depressed for at leastfive hours post injection.

(b) Insulin-Glycogen Bioactivity

This example evaluates the in vivo pharmacodynamic profile ofsubcutaneously administered insulin-glycogen. The insulin-glycogenconjugate was synthesized according to Example 32. The bioactivity ofthe insulin-glycogen conjugate was evaluated by injecting a 2.5equivalent U of insulin/kg dose behind the neck of fasted normalnon-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley, 200-250 g, n=4). Blood sampleswere collected via tail vein bleeding at −15 and 0 minutes, and at 15,30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240, 300 and 360 minutes after injection.Blood glucose values were measured using commercially available teststrips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). Ascompared to the insulin-dextran conjugates above, the high MWinsulin-glycogen conjugates lower glucose levels much more rapidly andto a greater extent (see FIG. 6). This rapid action and eliminationprofile is due to the rapid enzymatic digestion of the high MW glycogenpolymer chain following subcutaneous injection.

(c) An Exemplary Conjugate and RHI Bioactivity

This example evaluates and compares the in vivo pharmacodynamic profileof a subcutaneously administered exemplary conjugate and recombinanthuman insulin (RHI). The exemplary conjugate, I-1 in FIG. 45, wassynthesized using TSAT-C6 as the scaffold, AEM as the indicator analog,and NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin as the drug. In each case, the conjugateor RHI was injected at 3.5 U/kg behind the neck of fasted normalnon-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley, 400-500 g, n=6). Blood sampleswere collected via tail vein bleeding at 0 minutes and at 30, 60, 90,120, 150, 180, 210, 240, and 300 minutes after injection. Blood glucosevalues were measured using commercially available test strips (PrecisionXtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). As shown in FIG. 7, theglucose depression profiles for RHI and the exemplary conjugate arenearly identical despite the inability for the exemplary conjugate to beenzymatically digested in vivo. The rapid action and eliminationprofiles of the conjugate are most likely due to the fact that theconjugate is only 14% larger than RHI making any effect of increased MWalmost negligible in terms of pharmacodynamic properties.

Example 38 PK Comparison with RHI

This example describes and compares the serum insulin profiles obtainedfor a subcutaneously administered exemplary conjugate and recombinanthuman insulin (RHI). The exemplary conjugate, I-1 in FIG. 45, wassynthesized using TSAT-C6 as the framework, AEM as the ligand, andNH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin as the drug. In each case, the conjugate orRHI was injected at 3.5 U/kg behind the neck of fasted normalnon-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley, 400-500 g, n=6). Blood sampleswere collected via tail vein bleeding at 0 minutes and at 30, 60, 90,120, 150, 180, 210, 240, and 300 minutes after injection. Blood fromeach timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C to collect the serum. Seruminsulin concentrations were subsequently measured with a commerciallyavailable ELISA kit (Human Insulin ELISA, Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). Ascan be seen in FIG. 8, the pharmacokinetic profile for the conjugate isstatistically indistinguishable from that of RHI, demonstrating thatthis conjugate is rapidly absorbed into and eliminated from serumfollowing a subcutaneous injection.

Example 39 PK and Bioactivity of a B29-Substituted Version of theAEM-2-TSAT-C6-Insulin Conjugate

This example describes the serum insulin and blood glucose depressionprofiles obtained for a subcutaneously administered exemplary conjugate.The exemplary conjugate, I-7 in FIG. 45, was synthesized using TSAT-C6as the framework, AEM as the ligand, and recombinant human insulin asthe drug (to produce a B29-substituted conjugate instead of aB1-substituted conjugate as in Examples 37 and 38). In this case, theconjugate was injected at 5 U/kg behind the neck of fasted normalnon-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley, 400-500 g, n=3). Blood sampleswere collected via tail vein bleeding at 0 minutes and at 30, 60, 90,120, 150, 180, 210, 240, and 300 minutes after injection. Blood glucosevalues were measured using commercially available test strips (PrecisionXtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). In addition, blood fromeach timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C to collect the serum. Seruminsulin concentrations were subsequently measured with a commerciallyavailable ELISA kit (Human Insulin ELISA, Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). Ascan be seen in FIG. 9, the pharmacokinetic profile for theB29-substituted conjugate is statistically indistinguishable from thatof RHI as well as the B1-substituted conjugate from Example 38,demonstrating that this conjugate is also rapidly absorbed into andeliminated from serum following a subcutaneous injection.

Example 40 PK and Bioactivity Comparison with Lispro

This example compares the serum insulin and blood glucose profilesobtained for a subcutaneously administered exemplary conjugate andinsulin lispro. Insulin lispro (HUMALOG®) is a rapid acting insulinanalog in which the penultimate lysine and proline residues on theC-terminal end of the B-chain have been reversed. This modificationblocks the formation of insulin multimers. Data from soluble recombinanthuman insulin (RHI) is also provided for comparison (see Example 38 andFIG. 8).

The exemplary conjugate, I-1 in FIG. 45, was synthesized using TSAT-C6as the framework, AEM as the ligand, and NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin asthe drug. In each case, the conjugate or insulin lispro was injected at3.5 U/kg behind the neck of fasted normal non-diabetic rats (MaleSprague-Dawley, 400-500 gm, n=6). Blood samples were collected via tailvein bleeding at 0 minutes and at 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240,and 300 minutes after injection. Blood glucose values were measuredusing commercially available test strips (Precision Xtra, AbbottLaboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). In addition, blood from each timepointwas centrifuged at 4 C to collect the serum. Serum insulinconcentrations were subsequently measured with a commercially availableELISA kit (Human Insulin ELISA, Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). As can beseen in FIG. 12, the pharmacokinetic profile for the conjugate isstatistically indistinguishable from that of insulin lispro.

Example 41 Effect of Ligand on Bioactivity

This example compares the blood glucose profiles obtained for a seriesof subcutaneously administered exemplary conjugates. The exemplaryconjugates were synthesized using TSAT-C6 as the framework, andNH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin as the drug. The ligand composition wasvaried across the conjugates to cover a range of affinities: AEM-2,AEBM-2, AETM-1-AEBM-1 and AETM-2 (from lowest to higest affinity). Theinsulin conjugates are shown as I-1, I-2, I-3, and I-4 in FIG. 45. Ineach case, the conjugates were injected at 5 U/kg (3.5 U/kg for AEM-2)behind the neck of fasted normal non-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley,400-500 gm, n=6). Blood samples were collected via tail vein bleeding at0 minutes and at 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, and 300 minutesafter injection. Blood glucose values were measured using commerciallyavailable test strips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park,Ill.). In addition, blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C tocollect the serum. Serum insulin concentrations were subsequentlymeasured with a commercially available ELISA kit (Human Insulin ELISA,Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden).

As can be seen in FIG. 13, the glucose lowering response decreased asthe affinity of the ligand increased. This data provided the firstindication that the nature of the ligand may affect the bioactivity ofthe conjugate. FIGS. 14-16 show the blood glucose levels alongside theserum insulin levels for each of the four conjugates tested. Theseresults show quite clearly that the reduced glucose response forconjugates with higher affinity ligands results from the reduced PKprofile of the conjugate (compare FIG. 14 for AEM-2 with FIG. 17 forAETM-2).

Example 42 Effect of Exogenous Inhibitors on PK and Bioactivity

In view of the data described in Example 41 we hypothesized that thereduced PK profile and bioactivity observed with conjugates havinghigher ligands might result from stronger binding to endogenoussaccharide binding molecules. For example, without wishing to be limitedto any particular theory, we hypothesized that binding to endogenous“lectin-like” proteins such as surfactant proteins A and D or members ofthe selectin family might be causing these conjugates to be cleared morerapidly than conjugates with lower affinity ligands.

In order to test this hypothesis we ran a set of experiments todetermine whether exogenous ligands could compete for binding to theseproposed endogenous saccharide binding molecules and thereby increasethe PK profile of the conjugates post-administration. The high affinityAETM-2 conjugate I-2 was used for all experiments. In each case, thesame dose of conjugate was injected behind the neck of fasted normalnon-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley, 400-500 gm, n=6). After a 15minute delay a dose of the exogenous ligand was injected IP. Bloodsamples were collected via tail vein bleeding at 0 minutes and at 30,60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, and 300 minutes after the initialconjugate injection. Blood glucose values were measured usingcommercially available test strips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories,Abbott Park, Ill.). In addition, blood from each timepoint wascentrifuged at 4 C to collect the serum. Serum insulin concentrationswere subsequently measured with a commercially available ELISA kit(Human Insulin ELISA, Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). A control wasperformed by injecting saline instead of the exogenous ligand after 15minutes.

FIG. 18 shows the results obtained when alpha-methyl mannose wasadministered. Alpha-methyl mannose is a very high affinity saccharidewhich is capable of competing with AETM for binding to lectins such asCon A. As shown, the change in PK/PD profile that resulted frominjection of alpha-methyl mannose was very significant (p<0.05).

FIG. 19 is a control experiment in which soluble recombinant humaninsulin (RHI) was used for the initial injection instead of the AETM-2conjugate. As shown, there was no change in PK/PD profile whenalpha-methyl mannose was injected (p>>0.05).

The endogenous mannan-binding lectin (MBL) is known to bind saccharideswith the following relative affinities: D-mannose, L-fucose>D-glucose,N-acetyl-D-glucosamine>>D-galactose. We therefore decided to run twoexperiments comparing the effects of L-fucose (high affinity ligand),D-glucose (intermediate affinity ligand) and D-galactose (low affinityligand) on the PK/PD profile for the AETM-2 conjugate. The results withL-fucose are compared with the results obtained with alpha-methylmannose in FIG. 20. As shown, alpha-methyl mannose and L-fucose appearto exhibit the same kind of effect. The results with D-glucose andD-galactose are compared in FIG. 21. Galactose exhibits no effect ascompared to saline. Glucose appears to exhibit a small effect; however,this is complicated by the fact that the exogenous insulin from theconjugate quickly lowers the glucose, so the sustained effect observedwith alpha-methyl mannose and L-fucose does not occur.

Example 43 Effect of Exogenous Inhibitor at the Local Injection Site

In view of the data described in Example 42, we set out to determinewhether the alpha-methyl mannose (a-MM) induced increase in serumconjugate concentration and bioactivity was a result of an increasedrate of absorption from the subcutaneous injection site. The highaffinity TSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugate I-2 was used for this experiment.First, the conjugate was diluted to a concentration of 5 U/ml (0.2 mg/mlinsulin equivalent) using either a buffered saline solution or abuffered saline solution containing 1 M a-MM. Each solution was injectedsub-Q at a dose of 5 U/kg into the back of the neck of each of threenon-diabetic, male SD rats at time 0 and blood samples were collectedvia tail vein bleeding at 0 minutes and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150,180, 240, and 300 minutes after injection. Blood glucose values weremeasured using commercially available test strips (Precision Xtra,Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). In addition, blood from eachtimepoint was centrifuged at 4 C to collect the serum. Serum insulinconcentrations were subsequently measured with a commercially availableELISA kit (Iso Insulin ELISA, Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). In thisexperiment, rats that received the a-MM conjugate solution also receivedan injection of buffered saline solution sub-Q at a separate hindquarter injection site at 15 minutes. Rats that received the salineconjugate solution also received an injection of a-MM solution sub-Q ata separate hind quarter injection site at 15 minutes. These 15-minutedelayed injections were used to make sure that the amount of a-MMinjected sub-Q with the conjugate solution would not raise the systemicconcentration of a-MM high enough to invoke the kind of a-MM inducedeffects exhibited in FIG. 18.

The results shown in FIG. 22 indicate that within experimental error,the conjugate PK and bioactivity profiles were not enhanced at all bypurposefully co-injecting a high concentration of a-MM inhibitor withthe conjugate. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that theexogenous saccharides do not act on the conjugates by changing theabsorption profile into systemic circulation from the site of injection.

Example 44 Effect of Delaying the Exogenous Inhibitor Injection afterthe Initial Conjugate Injection

Based on the results in FIG. 22, the a-MM-enhanced PK and bioactivityresults cannot be explained by increased injection site absorption butrather must be the result of a systemic effect that occurs after theconjugate has been absorbed. The following two hypotheses could explainsuch behavior: (a) the conjugate is being eliminated from the body via alectin dependent mechanism that can be disrupted by the competitivesaccharide or (b) the conjugate is binding to lectins within the bodyand is only released into circulation in the presence of the competitivesaccharide. In the case of (b) one would expect that introduction ofa-MM into the animal after the conjugate has been fully absorbed fromthe sub-Q depot would cause the absorbed conjugate to release from thelectin sites in the body thereby increasing its serum concentration andbioactivity. However, if an elimination mechanism is at work asdescribed in (a) then injecting a-MM after the conjugate has been fullyabsorbed from the sub-Q depot will not produce any increase in serumconcentration or bioactivity because the conjugate will have alreadybeen completely eliminated from the body.

To determine the likely mechanism, the high affinity TSAT-C6-AETM-2conjugate I-2 was injected at 5 U/kg behind the neck of fasted normalnon-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley, 400-500 gm, n=3 per group).After four different delay times (15 minutes, 60 minutes, 120 minutes,and 240 minutes) a 4 g/kg dose of a-MM solution was injected IP. Bloodsamples were collected via tail vein bleeding at 0 minutes and at thefollowing intervals for each experiment:

IP a-MM injection delay time (min) Sample time points (min postinjection) 15 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 240, 300, 360 60 15,30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 120, 150, 180, 240, 300, 360 120 15, 30, 45, 60, 90,120, 135, 150, 180, 240, 300, 360 240 15, 30, 45, 60, 120, 180, 240,255, 270, 300, 360

Blood glucose values were measured using commercially available teststrips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). Inaddition, blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C to collectthe serum. Serum insulin concentrations were subsequently measured witha commercially available ELISA kit (Iso Insulin ELISA, Mercodia,Uppsala, Sweden).

As shown in FIG. 23, the increase in serum conjugate concentration andbioactivity due to IP a-MM injection is less and less prevalent thelonger the delay time between the conjugate injection and the IP a-MMinjection. For example, after 240 minutes no increase in serum conjugateconcentration is observed indicating that there is no lectin-bound depotof conjugate present in the body after complete conjugate absorption.These results are consistent with proposed mechanism (a) andinconsistent with proposed mechanism (b). It is to be understood thatwhile we hypothesize that mechanism (a) may be responsible for the PKproperties observed with the conjugates of the present disclosure, theclaims presented herein are in no way limited to a specific mechanism ofaction.

Example 45 Effect of a-MM on PK and Bioactivity as a Function of LigandAffinity

In view of the data described in Example 42, we set out to determine thepharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic behavior of conjugates synthesizedusing different saccharide ligands than the AETM ligand used in Example42. In this example, the TSAT-C6 framework was used and the followingconjugates were synthesized according to the methods described inExample 20 (note glucosamine-HCl or GA-HCl was purchased fromSigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, Mo.) and used without further purification):

Frame- AE- MW Frame- work sugar Purity (LC- Sugar/ Conjugate work MWLigand MW (HPLC) MS) Insulin I-7: TSAT- 822 AEM 223 95% 6729 2.0TSAT-C6- C6 AEM-2 (B29) I-5: TSAT- 822 GA- 216 95% 6641 2.0 TSAT-C6- C6HCl GA-2 (B29)According to N-terminal sequencing, approximately 90% of eachsaccharide-containing framework was conjugated to insulin via theLys-B29. TSAT-C6-AEM-2 (B29) and TSAT-C6-GA-2 (B29) are shown in FIG. 45as conjugates I-7 and 1-5, respectively.

The same type of experiments described in Example 42 were repeated forthe conjugates described in the table above. In each case, the same doseof conjugate (5 U/kg) was injected behind the neck of fasted normalnon-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley, 400-500 gm, n=3). After a 15minute delay a 4 g/kg dose of a-MM was injected IP. Blood samples werecollected via tail vein bleeding at 0 minutes and at 30, 60, 90, 120,150, 180, 210, 240, and 300 minutes after the initial conjugateinjection. Blood glucose values were measured using commerciallyavailable test strips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park,Ill.). In addition, blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C tocollect the serum. Serum insulin concentrations were subsequentlymeasured with a commercially available ELISA kit (ISO Insulin ELISA,Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). A control was performed by injecting salineinstead of a-MM after 15 minutes.

FIGS. 24 and 25 show the results obtained when a-MM was administered byIP injection 15 minutes after the sub-Q injection of 1-7 and 1-5,respectively. As shown, the increase in PK/PD profile that resulted frominjection of a-MM was very significant (p<0.05) for conjugate I-7 whencompared to the saline injection control group. However, the extent ofthe a-MM-induced increase in serum conjugate concentration was less thanthat obtained for the AETM-2 conjugates from Example 42. The I-5conjugate profile was unaffected by the a-MM injection, just like theresults obtained for RHI in FIG. 19. Taken together, these dataillustrate that both mannose-derived conjugates (AEM-2 and AETM-2)exhibit the a-MM-enhanced PK/PD profile while the loweraffinity-glucosamine derived conjugates do not. Furthermore, therelative change in PK profile for the lower affinity AEM-2 conjugates isless than the change observed for the higher affinity AETM-2 conjugates.

Example 46 Effect of a-MM on PK and Bioactivity as a Function of LigandValency

In this example, we set out to determine the pharmacokinetic andpharmacodynamic behavior of conjugates to which an increasing number ofexemplary saccharide ligands have been covalently attached. Allconjugates were synthesized according to the methods described inExample 20 using the frameworks and saccharide ligands specified below:

Frame- AE- MW Frame- work sugar Purity (LC- Sugar/ Conjugate work MWLigand MW (HPLC) MS) Insulin I-8: DSS 368 AEM 223 >95% 6168 1.0 DSS-AEM-1 (B29) I-9: TSPE 813 AEM 223 >95% 6829 3.0 TSPE- AEM-3 (B29) I-10:DSS 368 AETM 547 >95% 6491 1.0 DSS- AETM-1 (B29) I-11: TSPE 813 AETM547 >95% 7800 3.0 TSPE- AETM-3 (B29)According to N-terminal sequencing, approximately 90% of eachsaccharide-containing framework was conjugated to insulin via theLys-B29. The conjugates are shown in FIG. 45 as I-8, I-9, I-10, andI-11.

The same type of experiment described in Example 45 was repeated for theconjugates described in the table above. In each case, the same dose ofconjugate (5 U/kg) was injected behind the neck of fasted normalnon-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley, 400-500 gm, n=3). After a 15minute delay a 4 g/kg dose of a-MM was injected IP. Blood samples werecollected via tail vein bleeding at 0 minutes and at 30, 60, 90, 120,150, 180, 210, 240, and 300 minutes after the initial conjugateinjection. Blood glucose values were measured using commerciallyavailable test strips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park,Ill.). In addition, blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C tocollect the serum. Serum insulin concentrations were subsequentlymeasured with a commercially available ELISA kit (ISO Insulin ELISA,Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). A control was performed by injecting salineinstead of a-MM after 15 minutes.

FIGS. 26 and 27 show the results obtained when a-MM was administered byIP injection 15 minutes after the sub-Q injection of I-8 and I-9,respectively. As shown, the increase in PK/PD profile that resulted frominjection of a-MM was very significant (p<0.05) for I-9 and less so forI-8 when compared to the saline injection control group. Furthermore,the I-9 conjugate exhibited approximately the same a-MM-induced PKprofile as the I-2 conjugate from Example 42, both of which were muchmore pronounced than that obtained from I-8.

FIGS. 28 and 29 show the results obtained when a-MM was administered byIP injection 15 minutes after the sub-Q injection of I-10 and I-11,respectively. As shown, the increase in PK/PD profile that resulted frominjection of a-MM was very significant (p<0.05) for I-11 and slightlyless so for I-10 when compared to the saline injection control group.Furthermore, the I-11 conjugate exhibited approximately the samea-MM-induced PK profile as the I-2 conjugate from Example 42, both ofwhich were slightly more pronounced than that obtained from I-10.

Example 47 In Vivo Half Life/Elimination Rate Comparison

The results obtained in Example 44 are consistent with the exemplaryconjugates being eliminated from the body via a lectin dependentmechanism that can be disrupted by the presence of a competitivesaccharide. In order to explore this mechanism in more detail, weconducted the following experiments on exemplary conjugates to determinethe rate at which they were cleared from serum in vivo versusunconjugated insulin. All conjugates used in this study were synthesizedaccording to the general methods described in Example 20.

In each case the soluble conjugate was dosed at 0.4 mg conjugate/kg bodyweight into dual jugular vein cannulated male Sprague-Dawley rats(Taconic, JV/JV, 350-400 g, n=3). A sterile conjugate solution orcontrol insulin was injected intravenously via one JV cannula, followedimmediately by a chase solution of heparin-saline to ensure that all ofthe conjugate dose was administered into the animal. The second cannulawas used to collect blood samples at t=0 (pre-dose), and at 1, 2, 4, 8,15, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 minutes post-dose.

Blood glucose values were measured using commercially available teststrips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). Inaddition, blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C to collectthe serum. Serum insulin or serum conjugate concentrations weresubsequently measured with a commercially available ELISA kit(Iso-Insulin ELISA, Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden).

FIG. 30 shows the serum concentration of either RHI or TSAT-C6-AETM-2conjugate, shown as I-6 in FIG. 45, as a function of time following theintravenous injection. Clearly, I-6 is eliminated much more rapidly fromserum than is RHI. The data is best fit using a two-compartmentbi-exponential model with the following general formula: C(t)=A_(o)EXP(−at)+B_(o) EXP(−bt) where t is time, C(t) is the concentration inserum as a function of time, A_(o) is the first compartmentconcentration constant, a is the first compartment exponential timeconstant, B_(o) is the second compartment concentration constant, and bis the second compartment exponential time constant. The eliminationhalf-lives (in minutes) associated with each compartment aret1/2(a)=0.693/a and t1/2(b)=0.693/b. In FIG. 30, for RHI thet1/2(a)=0.76 and t1/2(b)=11.46 and for I-6 the t1/2(a)=0.47 andt1/2(b)=2.87. In other words, the t1/2(b) for I-6 is about four timesshorter than the t1/2(b) for RHI.

The following table summarizes the t1/2 parameters for a number ofconjugates tested using exactly the same procedure described above(structures are shown in FIG. 45):

Ratio Ratio t½ t½ to RHI to RHI Formulation (a) (b) t½ (a) t½ (b) RHI0.76 11.46 1.00 1.00 I-5: TSAT-C6-GA-2 0.81 12.02 1.07 1.05 I-8:DSS-AEM-1 0.90 9.61 1.18 0.84 I-7: TSAT-C6-AEM-2 0.45 2.77 0.60 0.24I-9: TSPE-AEM-3 0.66 2.62 0.87 0.23 I-10: DSS-AETM-1 0.82 4.48 1.08 0.39I-6: TSAT-C6-AETM-2 0.47 2.87 0.62 0.25 I-11: TSPE-AETM-3 0.22 1.33 0.290.12This data is consistent with the hypothesis that the exemplaryconjugates are eliminated from serum more rapidly than unconjugatedinsulin, the extent of which is governed by the affinity of theparticular conjugate for the endogenous lectin and the number of ligandssubstituted per conjugate. Furthermore, the a-MM induced increase inPK/PD profiles demonstrated in Examples 42, and 44-46 correlates wellwith the reduction in Phase b half-life for each of the conjugatestested.

Example 48 In Vivo Half Life/Elimination Rate Under Glucose Infusion

In this example, it was further hypothesized that the clearance rate ofexemplary conjugates could be inhibited by the presence of physiologicalconcentrations of glucose. In order to determine the rate at which theconjugates were cleared from serum in vivo under hyperglycemicconditions, the following experiment was conducted. In each case, I-7was dosed at 0.4 mg conjugate/kg body weight into dual jugular veincannulated male Sprague-Dawley rats (Taconic, JV/JV, 350-400 g, n=3).

One hour before the start of the experiment one rat cannula wasconnected to a syringe infusion pump containing a sterile 50% w/vglucose solution. The pump infusion rate was adjusted by theexperimenter to ensure that the blood glucose levels in the animalremained above 300 mg/dL at all times during the experiment. Bloodglucose was measured using commercially available test strips (PrecisionXtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). In a typical experiment,it was found that the infusion pump rate required to keep the animalsabove 300 mg/dL was typically greater than 85 uL/min. A blood sample wastaken at t=0 min, after which a sterile conjugate solution or controlinsulin was injected intravenously via the second rat cannula, followedimmediately by a chase solution of heparin-saline to ensure that all ofthe conjugate dose was administered into the animal. After an additionalflush of the cannula line with heparin-saline, the second cannula wasused to collect blood samples at t=1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, and180 minutes post-dose.

Blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C to collect the serum,and serum insulin or serum conjugate concentrations were subsequentlymeasured with a commercially available ELISA kit (Iso-Insulin ELISA,Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). Insulin or conjugate serum concentration vs.time data was best fit with the sum of two independent decayingexponentials (C(t)=a exp(−k_(a)t)+b exp(−k_(b)t)) according to thetwo-compartment model, where t1/2(a)=(ln 2)/k_(a) and t1/2(b)=(ln2)/k_(b). The following table summarizes the t1/2 parameters for I-7with and without the glucose infusion along with those obtained for RHIfrom Example 47:

Ratio Ratio t½ t½ to RHI to RHI Infusion Formulation (a) (b) t½ (a) t½(b) None RHI 0.76 11.46 1.00 1.00 Saline TSAT-C6-AEM-2 (I-7) 0.45 2.770.60 0.24 Glucose TSAT-C6-AEM-2 (I-7) 0.64 5.11 0.84 0.45 (400 mg/dl)We can conclude from these data that glucose is able to inhibit theaccelerated serum elimination for this conjugate thereby doubling thePhase b elimination half life from 2.77 to 5.11 minutes.

Example 49 In Vivo Half Life/Elimination Rate Under a-MM Infusion

In this example, it was further hypothesized that the clearance rate ofinsulin-saccharide conjugates could be inhibited by the presence ofarbitrarily high concentrations of inhibitory saccharides other thanglucose, such as α-methyl-mannose (a-MM). In order to determine the rateat which exemplary conjugates were cleared from serum in vivo in thepresence of a-MM, the following experiment was conducted. In each casethe soluble conjugate was dosed at 0.4 mg conjugate/kg body weight intodual jugular vein cannulated male Sprague-Dawley rats (Taconic, JV/JV,350-400 g, n=3).

One hour before the start of the experiment one rat cannula wasconnected to a syringe infusion pump containing a sterile 25% w/v a-MMsolution. The pump infusion rate was adjusted by the experimenter, butwas typically set at 85 uL/min. A blood sample was taken at t=0 min,after which a sterile conjugate solution or control insulin was injectedintravenously via the second rat cannula, followed immediately by achase solution of heparin-saline to ensure that all of the conjugatedose was administered into the animal. After an additional flush of thecannula line with heparin-saline, the second cannula was used to collectblood samples at t=1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 minutespost-dose.

In addition, blood glucose was measured using commercially availabletest strips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.).Blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C to collect the serum,and serum insulin or serum conjugate concentrations were subsequentlymeasured with a commercially available ELISA kit (Iso-Insulin ELISA,Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). Insulin or conjugate serum concentration vs.time data was best fit with the sum of two independent decayingexponentials (C(t)=a exp(−k_(a)t)+b exp(−k_(b)t)) according to thetwo-compartment model, where t1/2(a)=(ln 2)/k_(a) and t1/2(b)=(ln2)/k_(b). The following table summarizes the t1/2 parameters for theTSAT-C6-AEM-2 conjugate with and without the a-MM infusion along withthose obtained with glucose infusion from Example 48 and those obtainedfor RHI with no saccharide infusion from Example 47:

Ratio Ratio t½ t½ to RHI to RHI Infusion Formulation (a) (b) t½ (a) t½(b) None RHI 0.76 11.46 1.00 1.00 Saline TSAT-C6-AEM-2 (I-7) 0.45 2.770.60 0.24 a-MM TSAT-C6-AEM-2 (I-7) 0.92 10.09 1.21 0.88 GlucoseTSAT-C6-AEM-2 (I-7) 0.64 5.11 0.84 0.45 (400 mg/dl)We can conclude from these data that not only does a-MM inhibit theaccelerated serum elimination for this conjugate, it does so to an evengreater extent than does glucose. In this case, the Phase b eliminationhalf life nearly quadruples from 2.77 to 10.09 minutes.

IV. Other Examples

This fourth set of examples describes various experiments investigatingthe synthesis, formulation, and properties of some exemplary conjugates.

Example 50 Long Acting Insulin Conjugates Using Protamine, Zinc, andOther Excipients

Given that the data from previous examples is consistent with asaccharide-dependent serum elimination mechanism, we set out to developformulations of conjugates that would provide a steady, sustained rateof absorption from a subcutaneous injection site. At a steady absorptionrate, the serum conjugate concentration at any point in time will begoverned primarily by the saccharide-dependent elimination rate. In sucha way, we can formulate a long acting, sustained-release insulinexhibiting a saccharide-responsive PK profile.

In order to generate long acting conjugates, we prepared PZI (protaminezinc insulin) formulations from the conjugate solutions. Conjugatessubstituted with insulin at the B1-terminus do not form amorphous orcrystalline PZI formulations as readily, so we used B29-substitutedconjugates prepared based on the methods of Example 20. The excipientsused in these formulations comprise protamine, zinc, m-cresol, and saltall of which were obtained commercially from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis,Mo.). The concentrations of these components may be varied in order toobtain an optimally flat, sustained absorption rate. In addition, insome cases it was found that the addition of a small amount ofunmodified insulin helped stabilize the formulation. In these cases, theconcentration of unmodified insulin contained in the sample was variedto obtain an optimally flat, sustained absorption rate. In allformulations tested, the following recipe was used:

Component Variable Volume (ml) Conjugate solution at % unmodifiedinsulin content 1.000 2.7 mg/ml (M/M) 250 mM HEPES NaCl concentration(M) 0.111 buffered saline Zinc acetate solution Zinc concentration(mg/ml) 0.124 Cresol solution in water v/v % 0.159 pH 7.2 ProtamineProtamine concentration (mg/ml) 4 × 0.194 solution in 25 mM aliquotsHEPES buffered salineUnless otherwise specified, once the formulations were prepared afteraddition of the components in the order described in the table above,they were gently mixed for 30 minutes prior to in vivo testing.

To test the sustained release profile for a given formulation as well asthe glucose-responsive PK profile, the following experiment wasconducted. The formulation was injected at a predetermined dose (˜15U/kg in most cases unless otherwise specified) behind the neck of fastednormal non-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley, 400-500 gm, n=3). After a240 minute delay, a glucose dose (4 g/kg) was injected IP. Blood sampleswere collected via tail vein bleeding at 0 minutes and at 30, 60, 90,120, 150, 180, 210, 240, and 300 minutes after the initial conjugateinjection. Blood glucose values were measured using commerciallyavailable test strips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park,Ill.). In addition, blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C tocollect the serum. Serum insulin concentrations were subsequentlymeasured with a commercially available ELISA kit (Iso-Insulin ELISA,Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). According to the manufacturer's assayspecifications, the Iso-Insulin ELISA is 71% cross-reactive with ratinsulin. The serum samples were diluted by 10× in order to minimize theamount of endogenous rat insulin detected in each sample but thepossibility of rat insulin detection could not be completely ruled out.Therefore, the results are generally reported as “measured insulin,”which can consist of some amount of endogenous rat insulin in additionto the conjugate or RHI, depending on the experiment. Nevertheless, allsamples collected in each of the following examples were treatedidentically and can be directly compared for differences in performance.

Example 51 Effect of Protamine Concentration on Long Acting InsulinConjugate Performance

The purpose of this example was to demonstrate the effect of protamineconcentration on the time action and glucose-responsive PK profile of anexemplary conjugate. In this example I-6, synthesized according to themethods described in Example 20, was tested using the generalizedformulation and in vivo protocol described in Example 50:

Component Variable Volume (ml) TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I- unmodified insulin =16.7% 1.000 6) solution at 2.7 mg/ml 250 mM HEPES NaCl concentration =1.5M 0.111 buffered saline Zinc acetate solution Zinc concentration(mg/ml) = 0.124 see below Cresol solution in water 3% v/v 0.159 pH 7.2Protamine Protamine concentration 4 × 0.194 solution in 25 mM (mg/ml) =see below aliquots HEPES buffered saline Zinc concentration Protamineconcentration Formulation (mg/ml) (mg/ml) 1xP-1xZ 1.15 1.25 4xP-4xZ 4.605.00 10xP-4xZ 4.60 12.50The four hour IP glucose injection (4 g/kg) experiments were performedby dosing 15 U/kg (body weight in grams/1.87=microliters of injectionvolume) of each of the three formulations described above. The resultsshown in FIG. 31 a-c demonstrate that as the protamine concentration inthe formulation increases, the more protracted the resulting formulationand the more pronounced the measured increase in serum insulin profileafter the four hour glucose injection. The 1×P-1×Z formulation releaseda significant portion of the insulin conjugate payload over a shortperiod of time immediately following the injection such that very littlesignal was detected after the IP glucose challenge. On the other hand,the 10×P-4×Z formulation released a low basal amount of insulin over thefirst four hours with no hypoglycemia and subsequently attained >4×increase in measured insulin concentration immediately following the IPglucose injection.

Example 52 Effect of Zinc Concentration on Long Acting Insulin ConjugatePerformance

The purpose of this example was to demonstrate the effect of zincconcentration on the formulation stability, time action andglucose-responsive PK profile of an exemplary conjugate. In this example1-6, synthesized according to the methods described in Example 20, wastested using the generalized formulation and in vivo protocol describedin Example 50:

Component Variable Volume (ml) TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I- unmodified insulin =0% 1.000 6) solution at 2.7 mg/ml 250 mM HEPES NaCl concentration = 1.5M0.111 buffered saline Zinc acetate solution Zinc concentration (mg/ml) =0.124 see below Cresol solution in water 3% v/v 0.159 pH 7.2 ProtamineProtamine concentration 4 × 0.194 solution in 25 mM (mg/ml) = see belowaliquots HEPES buffered saline Zinc concentration Protamineconcentration Formulation (mg/ml) (mg/ml) 4xP-1xZ 1.15 5.00 4xP-2xZ 2.305.00 10xP-1xZ 1.15 12.5 10xP-2xZ 2.30 12.5The four hour IP glucose injection (4 g/kg) experiments were performedby dosing 15 U/kg (body weight in grams/1.87=microliters of injectionvolume) of each of the four formulations described above. The resultsshown in FIGS. 32 a-b and 33 a-b demonstrate that within experimentalerror, the concentration of zinc did not have a significant effect onthe overall sustained release nature of the formulation or theglucose-responsive profile. In all cases, a statistically significantincrease in measured insulin concentration was observed following the IPglucose injection. As demonstrated in Example 51, the higher protamine(10×P) formulations released less conjugate over time than the lowerprotamine (4×P) formulations regardless of the zinc concentration.However, when the formulations were left at room temperature for greaterthan 24 hours, both 10×P formulations transformed from an easilydispersible particulate solution into a sticky, agglomerated, two-phasesolution. This did not happen with the corresponding 10×P-4×Zformulation. Similarly, the 4×P-1×Z formulation was found to transformthe same way as the 10×P-1×Z formulation whereas the 4×P-2×Z wasrelatively stable at room temperature for weeks. Therefore, the zincconcentration for a given protamine concentration can be adjusted toprepare easily dispersible formulations that are stable over longperiods of time.

Example 53 Effect of m-Cresol Concentration on Long Acting InsulinConjugate Performance

The purpose of this example was to demonstrate the effect of m-cresolconcentration on the time action and glucose-responsive PK profile of anexemplary conjugate. In this example I-6, synthesized according to themethods described in Example 20, was tested using the generalizedformulation and in vivo protocol described in Example 50:

Component Variable Volume (ml) TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I- unmodified insulin =0% 1.000 6) solution at 2.7 mg/ml 250 mM HEPES NaCl concentration = 1.5M0.111 buffered saline Zinc acetate solution Zinc concentration = 4.6mg/ml 0.124 Cresol solution in water v/v % = see below 0.159 pH 7.2Protamine Protamine concentration = 12.5 4 × 0.194 solution in 25 mMmg/ml aliquots HEPES buffered saline Formulation Cresol concentration Nocresol 0 4x cresol 12% v/vThe four hour IP glucose injection (4 g/kg) experiments were performedby dosing 15 U/kg (body weight in grams/1.87=microliters of injectionvolume) of the two formulations described above. The results shown inFIG. 34 a-b demonstrate that the presence of m-cresol maintains a moreprotracted formulation. The no cresol formulation releases a significantportion of the insulin conjugate payload over a short period of timeimmediately following the injection such that very little increase inmeasured insulin concentration was observed when challenged with IPglucose. On the other hand, the 4× cresol formulation releases a lowbasal amount of insulin over the first four hours with no hypoglycemiaand subsequently attains a 3-4× increase in measured insulinconcentration immediately following the IP glucose injection.

Example 54 Effect of Salt/Isotonic Agent Concentration on Long ActingInsulin Conjugate Performance

The purpose of this example was to demonstrate the effect of saltconcentration and choice of isotonic agent on the time action andglucose-responsive PK profile of an exemplary conjugate. In this example1-6, synthesized according to the methods described in Example 20, wastested using the generalized formulation and in vivo protocol describedin Example 50:

Component Variable Volume (ml) TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I- unmodified insulin =16.7% 1.000 6) solution at 2.7 mg/ml 250 mM HEPES NaCl or glycerolconcentration 0.111 buffered saline (M) = see below Zinc acetatesolution Zinc concentration = 4.6 mg/ml 0.124 Cresol solution in water3% v/v 0.159 pH 7.2 Protamine Protamine concentration = 12.5 4 × 0.194solution in 25 mM mg/ml aliquots HEPES buffered saline Formulation NaClconcentration No salt 0.0M 3.3x salt 5.0M Glycerol Neat glycerolsolution instead of buffered salineThe four hour IP glucose injection (4 g/kg) experiments were performedby dosing 15 U/kg (body weight in grams/1.87=microliters of injectionvolume) of each of the three formulations described above. The resultsshown in FIG. 35 a-c demonstrate that the presence of salt in theformulation maintains a more protracted formulation. The no saltformulation released a significant portion of the insulin conjugatepayload over the first four hours of the experiment such that verylittle increase in measured insulin concentration was observed whenchallenged with IP glucose. On the other hand, the 3.3× salt formulationreleased a low basal amount of conjugate over the first four hours withno hypoglycemia and subsequently attained a ˜4× increase in measuredinsulin concentration immediately following the IP glucose injection.This performance was similar to that obtained with the 10×P-4×Zformulation from Example 51, which was exactly the same as the 3.3× saltformulation but contained approximately ⅓ the salt concentration (1.5 Mas compared to 5.0 M). Finally, substituting glycerol for NaCl as theisotonic agent does not appear to adversely affect the protracted natureof the formulation.

Example 55 Effect of Unmodified Insulin Concentration on Long ActingInsulin Conjugate Performance

The purpose of this example was to demonstrate the effect of includingdifferent concentrations of unmodified insulin on the time action andglucose-responsive PK profile of an exemplary conjugate. In this example1-6, synthesized according to the methods described in Example 20, wastested using the generalized formulation and in vivo protocol describedin Example 50:

Component Variable Volume (ml) TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I- % unmodified insulin =see 1.000 6) solution at 2.7 mg/ml below 250 mM HEPES NaCl concentration= 1.5M 0.111 buffered saline Zinc acetate solution Zinc concentration =4.6 mg/ml 0.124 Cresol solution in water 3% v/v 0.159 pH 7.2 ProtamineProtamine concentration = 12.5 4 × 0.194 solution in 25 mM mg/mlaliquots HEPES buffered saline Formulation % unmodified insulin 1/244.17 1/12 8.33 ⅙  16.7The four hour IP glucose injection (4 g/kg) experiments were performedby dosing 15 U/kg (body weight in grams/1.87=microliters of injectionvolume) of each of the three formulations described above. The resultsshown in FIG. 36 a-c demonstrate that the presence of unmodified insulinin the formulation beneficially produces a more protracted formulationwith substantial increase in measured insulin concentration following anIP glucose injection. Furthermore, the presence of unmodified insulinhelps preserve the formulation performance even after several weeks ofroom temperature incubation (see Example 57 below).

Example 56 Long Acting Insulin Conjugates—Dose Response Effect

In this example, we evaluated the dose-response effect of a particularformulation of a long-acting exemplary conjugate. Conjugate I-6,synthesized according to the methods described in Example 20, was testedusing the generalized formulation and in vivo protocol described inExample 50:

Component Variable Volume (ml) TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I- unmodified insulin =16.7% 1.000 6) solution at 2.7 mg/ml 250 mM HEPES NaCl concentration =1.5M 0.111 buffered saline Zinc acetate solution Zinc concentration =4.6 mg/ml 0.124 Cresol solution in water 3% v/v 0.159 pH 7.2 ProtamineProtamine concentration = 12.5 4 × 0.194 solution in 25 mM mg/mlaliquots HEPES buffered salineThe four hour IP glucose injection (4 g/kg) experiment was performed bydosing 5 or 15 U/kg (body weight in grams/1.87=microliters of injectionvolume) of the formulation described above.

As shown in FIG. 37, the conjugate exhibited a flat PK profile until theglucose was injected. The increase in measured insulin concentrationfollowing the IP glucose challenge was dramatic and dose-dependent(compare data obtained with a 5 U/kg (left) and 15 U/kg (right) dose ofconjugate). No hypoglycemia was observed at early or late time points.

Example 57 Stability of Exemplary Long-Acting, Glucose-ResponsiveConjugates

In this example, we synthesized the same exact long acting formulationfrom Example 56 at a 2× scale. Half of the material was stored at 2-8 Cand the other half stored at room temperature for one week or two weeks.After the specified storage time, the material was redispersed andtested using the same four hour IP glucose injection protocol describedin Example 56 at a 15 U/kg dose (body weight in grams/1.87=microlitersof injection volume). As shown in FIGS. 38-39, this formulationdemonstrates similar performance even after being stored refrigerated(FIG. 38) or at room temperature (FIG. 39) for at least two weeks.

Example 58 Performance of Long Acting Conjugates Prepared fromConjugates with Varying Ligand Affinity and Multivalency

In this example, we set out to determine the time action andglucose-responsive PK profile of long-acting formulations of conjugatesconstructed from different types and numbers of ligands. All conjugatesfor this example were synthesized according to the methods described inExample 20 using the frameworks and saccharide ligands specified below:

Frame- AE- MW Frame- work sugar Purity (LC- Sugar/ Conjugate work MWLigand MW (HPLC) MS) Insulin I-8: DSS 368 AEM 223 >95% 6168 1.0 DSS-AEM-1 (B29) I-7: TSAT- 822 AEM 223 95% 6729 2.0 TSAT-C6- C6 AEM-2 (B29)I-9: TSPE 813 AEM 223 >95% 6829 3.0 TSPE- AEM-3 (B29) I-10: DSS 368 AETM547 >95% 6491 1.0 DSS- AETM-1 (B29) I-11: TSPE 813 AETM 547 >95% 78003.0 TSPE- AETM-3 (B29) I-17: C6- 838 AEM 223 95% 6745 2.0 C6-amide-amide AEM-2 (B29)The following long-acting formulation was used for each conjugate:

Component Variable Volume (ml) Conjugate solution at unmodified insulin= 16.7% 1.000 2.7 mg/ml 250 mM HEPES NaCl concentration = 1.5M 0.111buffered saline Zinc acetate solution Zinc concentration = 4.6 mg/ml0.124 Cresol solution in water 3% v/v 0.159 pH 7.2 Protamine Protamineconcentration = 12.5 4 × 0.194 solution in 25 mM mg/ml aliquots HEPESbuffered saline

The four hour IP glucose injection (4 g/kg) experiments were performedby dosing 15 U/kg (body weight in grams/1.87=microliters of injectionvolume) of each of the conjugates described above. As shown in FIG. 40a-e, all conjugates exhibited a protracted absorption profile with someelement of increase in measured serum insulin concentration followingthe 4 hour glucose injection. It appears that there was some significantconjugate absorption in the first four hours after injection of the longacting TSPE-AETM-3 conjugate I-11. However, all other conjugatesexhibited flat absorption profiles like the ones observed forTSAT-C6-AETM-2 conjugates. These results correlate well with the factthat the half-lives of these conjugates are all less than unmodifiedinsulin as described in Examples 47-48 and that each of themdemonstrates an a-MM-induced increase in PK/PD profile as described inExamples 45-46.

Example 59 Performance of Long Acting Conjugates Under IP a-MM TestingConditions

In this example, we tested the a-MM-responsive profile of long-actingformulations of conjugates constructed from TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I-6) andTSAT-C6-GA-2 (I-5) conjugates. Both conjugates were prepared accordingto the general methods described in Example 20. In addition, thefollowing long-acting formulation was used for each conjugate:

Component Variable Volume (ml) Conjugate solution at unmodified insulin= 16.7% 1.000 2.7 mg/ml 250 mM HEPES NaCl concentration = 1.5M 0.111buffered saline Zinc acetate solution Zinc concentration = 4.6 mg/ml0.124 Cresol solution in water 3% v/v 0.159 pH 7.2 Protamine Protamineconcentration = 12.5 4 × 0.194 solution in 25 mM mg/ml aliquots HEPESbuffered saline

To test the sustained release nature of the formulations as well as thea-MM-responsive PK profile, the following experiment was conducted. Theformulations were injected at 15 U/kg (body weight ingrams/1.87=microliters of injection volume) behind the neck of fastednormal non-diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley, 400-500 gm, n=3). After a240 minute delay, an a-MM dose (4 g/kg) was injected IP. Blood sampleswere collected via tail vein bleeding at 0 minutes and at 30, 60, 90,120, 150, 180, 210, 240, and 300 minutes after the initial conjugateinjection. Blood glucose values were measured using commerciallyavailable test strips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park,Ill.). In addition, blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C tocollect the serum. Serum insulin concentrations were subsequentlymeasured with a commercially available ELISA kit (Iso-Insulin ELISA,Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden).

As shown in FIG. 41 a, the peak:baseline serum concentration ratiofollowing the IP a-MM injection for the long-acting TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I-6)formulation was even higher than that observed for the same formulationwhen glucose is substituted for a-MM. Furthermore, the TSAT-C6-GA-2(I-5) formulation (FIG. 41 b) did not demonstrate any increase in serumconjugate concentration following the a-MM challenge. These resultscorrelate well with the fact that that the elimination half life of theTSAT-C6-GA-2 (I-5) conjugate was nearly identical to unmodified insulin(Example 47), and that it exhibited no a-MM-induced change in PK(Example 45).

Example 60 Long Acting Conjugates in Diabetics and Non-Diabetics

In order to confirm the in vivo utility of the long actingTSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I-6) formulation, we administered it (5, 10 and 20 U/kg)to normal and STZ-induced diabetic rats (Male Sprague-Dawley, 400-500gm, n=6). The formulation was prepared using the following procedure:

Component Variable Volume (ml) TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I- unmodified insulin =0% 1.000 6) solution at 2.7 mg/ml 250 mM HEPES NaCl concentration = 1.5M0.111 buffered saline Zinc acetate solution Zinc concentration = 4.6mg/ml 0.124 Cresol solution in water 3% v/v 0.159 pH 7.2 ProtamineProtamine concentration = 12.5 4 × 0.194 solution in 25 mM mg/mlaliquots HEPES buffered saline

No external IP injections of glucose were used to trigger thebioactivity of the conjugates. Instead we relied on the endogenouslevels of glucose in the rats to control the PK and PD profile of theconjugate formulation. Blood samples were collected via tail veinbleeding at various time points after the initial conjugate injection.Blood glucose values were measured using commercially available teststrips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). Asshown in FIG. 42, no hypoglycemia was observed at early or late timepoints for the normal or diabetic rats. The glucose profiles observedwith the diabetic rats are dramatic and demonstrate that the conjugateswere activated by the higher glucose concentrations and exerted theirglucose-lowering effect in a dose proportional manner over a long timeperiod (over 8 hours at the highest dose).

The experiment was repeated using different doses (7, 14 and 28 U/kg)and a longer time period (24 hours). Results from that experiment areshown in FIG. 43.

Example 61 Conjugation with Fatty Acid Esters to Generate Long ActingFormulations

It will be appreciated that we could have used an alternative approachto protamine zinc insulin for making a long acting form of an exemplaryconjugate. In this example, we demonstrate how to convert aB1-substituted insulin conjugate into a long-acting formulation bycovalently modifying the B29-epsilon-amine group with a long chain fattyacid. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,869,930, insulin acylation withC14-myristic acid, for example, leads to a soluble material with a flat,protracted time action profile. B1-substituted TSAT-C6-AETM-2 (I-2) issynthesized according to the methods in Example 12. The material maythen be lyophilized into a dry powder and used as the starting materialin the following procedure.

Myristic acid-NHS ester is dissolved at 60 mM in 1 ml of anhydrous DMSOfollowed by the addition of 400 ul (excess) of triethylamine (TEA). Thesolution is stirred rapidly for 10 minutes at room temperature.Conjugate I-2 is then dissolved separately in 7.5 ml of anhydrous DMSOat a concentration of 8.1 mM. Once dissolved, the entire solution isadded over the course of one minute to the myristic acid-NHS estersolution followed by room temperature mixing for an additional two hoursto ensure complete reaction.

The resulting solution is then superdiluted by 10× into a 20 mM pH 5.0HEPES buffered saline solution containing 0.150 M NaCl followed by pHadjustment with dilute HCl to a final pH of 8.0. The aqueous solution isfirst purified by size exclusion using an appropriate solid phase forthe desired separation of conjugated and unconjugated materials. Thesolution passing through the column void volume is then concentratedusing an appropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane to approximately10 ml. This solution is further purified to obtain the desired productusing preparative reverse phase HPLC on a Waters SymmetryPrep C18, 7 umcolumn, 19×150 mm. Buffer A is deionized water containing 0.1% TFA andBuffer B is acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA. Before purification, thecolumn is equilibrated at 15 ml/minutes with a 80% A/20% B mobile phaseusing a Waters DeltraPrep 600 system. Approximately 5 ml of the crudesolution is injected onto the column over the course of 2 minutes at aflow rate of 15 ml/minutes after which a linear gradient is employedfrom 80% A/20% B to 75% A/25% B over the next 5 minutes followed by aslower linear gradient from 75% A/25% B to 62% A/38% B over the next 22minutes. The retention time of the desired peak will vary depending onthe drug, framework, and ligand used. Once collected, the solution isrotovapped to remove acetonitrile and lyophilized to obtain pureconjugate whose identity may be verified by LC-MS (HT Laboratories, SanDiego, Calif.). The protracted and saccharide-responsive PK/PD profileof the resulting conjugate may then be evaluated using the 4 hour IPglucose or a-MM conditions described in Examples 50 and 59.

Example 62 Long-Acting Conjugates with Insulin Possessing a NeutralIsoelectric Point

It will be appreciated that we could have used yet other alternativeapproaches to protamine zinc insulin for making a long acting form ofthe conjugate. In this example, we demonstrate how to synthesizelong-acting conjugates by substituting insulin glargine (LANTUS®), forexample, instead of wild-type human insulin in preparing the conjugate.Any and all synthesis methods described in the preceding examples may beused to form insulin glargine-conjugates. Insulin glargine is anexemplary long acting insulin analog in which Asp-A21 has been replacedby glycine, and two arginines have been added to the C-terminus of theB-chain. The effect of these changes is to shift the isoelectric point,producing a solution that is completely soluble at pH 4 but insoluble atphysiological pH. Once synthesized and purified, the protracted andsaccharide-responsive PK/PD profile of the resulting conjugate may thenbe evaluated using the 4 hour IP glucose or a-MM conditions described inExamples 50 and 59.

Example 63 Use of Soluble Conjugates in a Pump Delivery System

Instead of formulating the saccharide-responsive conjugates into longacting formulations, each may be continuously infused intravenously,subcutaneously, or intraperitoneally using a pump delivery system. Thesterile solution of conjugate at a known concentration (typically 25-100U/ml) is loaded into the pump reservoir and continuously delivered intothe compartment of choice at a steady rate. This rate is adjusted to themaximal level at which no hypoglycemia is observed in the subject. Then,using the 4 hour IP glucose or a-MM conditions described in Examples 50and 59, the glucose-responsive PK/PD profile may be evaluated. The pumpmethod is advantageous in that no excipients are required to provide asteady input and absorption rate for the conjugates. A variety ofinsulin pumps have been described in the art and may be used for thispurpose. For example, see any one of the pumps described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,435,173, 4,498,843, 4,923,375, 5,062,841, 6,650,951, 6,744,350,6,852,104, 7,377,907, and 7,515,060, and U.S. Patent Publication Nos.20080172028, 20090005726, 20090112165, 20090137957, 20090177142,20090177154, and 20100004598, each of which is incorporated herein byreference.

Example 64 Synthesis of C6-Amide-AEM-2 intermediate

This example describes a synthetic process for making a ZC-AEM-2intermediate having the following chemical structure:

a. Intermediate Z2A

The first phase of the process involved combining reagents Z A and Z Bto produce intermediate Z2A as shown in the following reaction scheme:

This was achieved as follows. To a 250 mL two neck flask was addedcompound Z1B (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., 13.9 g),1-hydroxybenzotriazole hydrate (HOBT, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.,11.0 g) and dimethylformamide (DMF, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.) atroom temperature under nitrogen. The mixture was cooled to 0 C, afterwhich time Compound ZiA (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., 9.5 mL) anddi-isopropylcarbodiimide (DIC, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., 9.8 ml)were added to the mixture under nitrogen. The reaction solution wasstirred at room temperature overnight. After 36 hours of reaction,(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., 7.71 g)was added, and after 48 hours the reaction mixture was filtered with aBuchner funnel. The filtrate was kept at 4 C overnight and worked up thefollowing day.

The filtrate was evaporated, and the resulting residue was taken up in120 mL of ethyl acetate and washed successively with 10% aqueous HClsolution (3×30 mL), saturated aqueous NaHCO₃ solution (3×30 mL), brine(3×20 mL), and dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solution wasconcentrated to dryness in vacuo to yield the product which could beused without further purification.

b. Intermediate Z3A

The second phase of the process involved converting intermediate Z2A tointermediate Z3A as shown in the following reaction scheme:

Compound Z2A (16.0 g) was dissolved in methanol (Sigma-Aldrich, St.Louis, Mo., 85 mL), and the solution was cooled to 0 C. A 10% aqueoussolution of sodium hydroxide (19 mL) was added dropwise and the reactionwas stirred at 0 C for 3 hours. Afterwards, the suspension was dissolvedwith a minimum amount of water (15 mL). To this solution was addedAmberlite IR-120 (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., H⁺ form), in 15×2 galiquots at 0 C. The bead suspension was stirred for 0.5 hr, resultingin a solution pH of ˜5. The resulting mixture was filtered to remove theAmberlite beads, and the filtrate concentrated and dried in vacuo toyield a white-red solid, 13.0 g yield.

c. Intermediate Z4A

The third phase of the process involved combining intermediate Z3A withreagent Z3B to produce intermediate Z4A as shown in the followingreaction scheme:

Compound Z3B (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., 19.0 g) was dissolved inDMF (50 mL). The suspension was cooled to 0 C, after which timetriethylamine (15.0 mL) was added to the solution. The temperature ofthe solution was maintained at 0° C. for 0.75 hours. Next, the solutionwas charged with a solution of Compound Z3A (13.0 g) dissolved in DMF(24 mL) at 0 C, followed by HOBT (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., 15.9g), DMF (50 mL), and DIC (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., 15.0 mL). Theresulting solution was stirred for an additional hour at 0 C and thenallowed to warm to room temperature and react overnight for anadditional 18 hours.

Next the reaction was recooled to 0 C, and N,N-diisopropylethylamine(DIPEA, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., 15 mL) was added and theresulting solution stirred for 0.5 hr until the pH of the solution wasapproximately 9.0. Anhydrous methylene chloride (25 mL) and DIC (3.5 mL)were added and stirring was continued for another 10 hours. Morecompound Z3B was added (free base, 2.5 g) and the reaction was allowedto proceed for an additional 50 hours at room temperature under anitrogen atmosphere.

Finally, the reaction mixture was filtered, and the filtrateconcentrated via rotary evaporation. The residue was dissolved inmethylene chloride (CH₂Cl₂, 400 mL), and the organic phase washed with a5% HCl solution (3×200 mL). The organic layer was cooled to 0° C. andneutralized with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution (3×100 mL) andbrine (2×200 mL). The organic solution was dried over magnesium sulfate,which was then separated by filtration and concentrated using rotaryevaporation. The residue was purified by column chromatography on silicagel (eluent phase: methylene chloride/methanol 50:1 to 5:1). Columnfractions were concentrated and dried in vacuo overnight. A white solidwas obtained as Z4A (18.9 g, yield 81%).

d. Intermediate Z5A

The fourth phase of the process involved converting intermediate Z4A tointermediate Z5A as shown in the following reaction scheme:

Ester Z4A (2.27 g) was dissolved in methanol (10 mL), and to thissolution 5.0 mL of 1.0M sodium hydroxide solution was added at roomtemperature. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 38 hours.At the end of this time, an additional 1.5 mL of 2.0M aqueous sodiumhydroxide solution was added, and the mixture was stirred at roomtemperature for another 14 hours.

Next, the reaction mixture was acidified with a 10% aqueous solution ofHCl at 0° C. The product was extracted with ethyl acetate (3×25 mL). Thecombined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate, and thenconcentrated to dryness in vacuo overnight to yield Z5A as a white solid(2.2 g).

e. Intermediate Z6A

The fifth phase of the process involved combining intermediate Z5A withaminoethylmannose (AEM) to produce intermediate Z6A as shown in thefollowing reaction scheme:

Diacid compound Z5A (2.0 g), aminoethylmannose (1.46 g),O-(7-azabenzotriazol-1-yl)-N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-uroniumhexafluorophosphate (HATU, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., 2.7 g) weredissolved in dry DMF (80 mL) under nitrogen at 0° C. DIPEA(Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., 3.0 mL) was added dropwise to themixture at 0° C. under a nitrogen atmosphere. The mixture was stirredfor 1 hr at 0° C. and then an additional 4 hr at room temperature. Atthis point, another aliquot of aminoethylmannose (0.5 g) and HATU (0.52g) was added to the reaction solution at room temperature, and thesolution was stirred for another 3 hours. The mixture was concentratedvia rotary evaporation and the residue was purified by columnchromatography on silica gel (methylene chloride/methanol 20:1, then 6:1eluting to 1:1). Fractions were collected and evaporated in vacuo toyield purified product (TLC: upper spot, Rf 0.6, methylenechloride:methanol 1:3).

It will be appreciated that this entire process can be repeated toobtain conjugates with different ligands by replacing AEM with anotheramine containing reagent (e.g., without limitation AEG, AEBM, AETM,etc.) when converting intermediate Z5A to intermediate Z6A.

f. Intermediate Z7A

The sixth phase of the process involved converting intermediate Z6A tointermediate Z7A as shown in the following reaction scheme:

Compound Z6A (1.43 g) was dissolved in anhydrous methanol (100 mL). Tothis solution was added (1.00 g palladium on carbon (Pd/C)), andhydrogen gas was bubbled into the solution to reduce the protectinggroup to give the corresponding amine. It was found that the reactionhad reached complete conversion after approximately 9 hours of reaction.

The reaction mixture was filtered through a pad of Celite, and thefiltrate was concentrated and dried in vacuo. Compound Z7A was obtainedas a brown solid (1.16 g, yield 94%).

g. Intermediate Z8A

The following scheme shows how the coupling agent Z8A was prepared:

To a cooled solution of N-hydroxysuccinimide (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis,Mo., NHS, 7.0 g) in dry CH₂Cl₂ (65 mL) at 0 C was added triethylamine(9.5 mL) and adipoyl chloride (3.97 mL, 5.0 g). The resulting mixturewas stirred for 2 hr at 0 C. The mixture was washed with a saturatedaqueous solution of NaCl (3×30 mL) and dried over magnesium sulfate. Thesolution was filtered and concentrated in vacuo, and then the residuepurified via silica gel chromatography to obtain a white solid (6.6 g)as product Z8A.

h. Intermediate Z9A

The following scheme shows how the coupling agent Z8A was combined withintermediate Z7A to produce intermediate Z9A:

Compound Z7A (0.256 g) was dissolved in dry DMF, and the solution wascooled to 0 C. To this solution was added a solution of Z8A (0.710 g) inanhydrous DMF (15 mL) under a nitrogen atmosphere. The mixture wasstirred at 0 C for 2 hours.

The solution volume was concentrated to one third and filtered offexcess unreacted DSS. The filtrate was further concentrated toapproximately 3 mL of column and purified by silica gel chromatography(eluent: methylene chloride/methanol 20:1 to 4:1, then 3:1 to 1:1).Collected fractions were concentrated and dried in vacuo to give 151 mgof purified product. ¹H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO) δ 1.28-1.63 (band, 20H),2.07-2.22 (band, 6H), 2.85 (s, 4H), 3.08-3.64 (band, 22H), 3.91 (s, 4H),4.08 (s, 2H), 4.49 (s, 2H), 4.57 (d, 2H, J=5.70 Hz), 4.64 (s, 2H), 4.73(t, 4H, J=5.10 Hz), 7.85 (s, 2H, amide NH), 8.68, 8.19, 7.98 (s, 3H,amide NH). LC-MS (Found 1074.67 [M+Na⁺], M=1051.57 Da; Calculated1052.08 Da).

Example 65 Synthesis of C6-Amide-AEM-2 (B1) Conjugate

This example describes a method for preparing a B1-conjugated insulinfrom intermediate Z9A of Example 64. Compound Z9A was conjugated toinsulin as follows. NH₂—B1-BOC2(A1,B29)-insulin synthesized according toExample 8 (0.167 g) was dissolved in dry DMSO (3 mL) at room temperatureunder nitrogen and stirred for 0.5 hours at room temperature. To thissolution was added anhydrous triethylamine (0.013 mL) at roomtemperature under nitrogen. Compound Z9A (0.177 g) in dry DMSO (1.5 mL)was added via syringe pump at a rate of (4.2 uL/min) to theinsulin-triethylamine mixture at room temperature at a stir rate of 80rpm. The reaction conversion was monitored by analytical HPLC. After 4hours, another 3 equivalents of TEA (0.010 mL) were added to thereaction mixture. After a total of 10.5 hours at room temperature, thereaction was stopped and placed in a −20 C freezer overnight.

The next day, the reaction mixture was thawed and placed onto a smallpacked column of ion exchange beads (SP Sephadex beads, Sigma-Aldrich,St. Louis, Mo., isocratic conditions). The column was centrifugedbriefly for 4 min at 1000×g to purify the insulin conjugate (assessed byanalytical HPLC). The collected fractions from the ion exchange column(6 mL) were added dropwise to dry acetone (30 mL) with stirring at 140rpm for 10 min. The resulting suspension was poured into a 50 mLcentrifuge tube which was spun for 10 min at 3500×g. The clearsupernatant was removed from the tubes, and the cake kept and set aside.The supernatant was added to another 30 mL of acetone to obtain a secondcrop of precipitate (after adding a few drops of 5N HCl), which was thencentrifuged for 10 min at 3500×g to obtain a second centrifuge cake.

The combined cakes were dried in vacuo for 1 hour, to obtain a whitesolid (197 mg, 92% yield) at >98% purity by analytical HPLC. The insulinconjugate BOC groups were removed by the procedure set forth in Example12 to obtain the biologically active insulin conjugate.

The process described in this example has the advantage of producing ahigh yield, high purity insulin conjugate without requiring reversephase HPLC.

Example 66 Synthesis of 1-17: C6-Amide-AEM-2 (B29) Conjugate

This example describes one method for preparing a B29-conjugated insulinfrom intermediate Z9A of Example 64. Compound Z9A is conjugated toinsulin as follows. NH₂—B29-BOC2(A1,B1)-insulin synthesized according toExample 16 (0.167 g) is dissolved in dry DMSO (3 mL) at room temperatureunder nitrogen and stirred for 0.5 hours at room temperature.

To this solution is added anhydrous triethylamine (0.013 mL) at roomtemperature under nitrogen. Compound Z9A (0.177 g) in dry DMSO (1.5 mL)is added via syringe pump at a rate of (4.2 uL/min) to theinsulin-triethylamine mixture at room temperature at a stir rate of 80rpm. The reaction conversion is monitored by analytical HPLC. After 4hours, another 3 equivalents of TEA (0.010 mL) are added to the reactionmixture. After a total of 10.5 hours at room temperature, the reactionis stopped and placed in a −20 C freezer overnight.

The next day, the reaction mixture is thawed and placed onto a smallpacked column of ion exchange beads (SP Sephadex beads, Sigma-Aldrich,St. Louis, Mo., isocratic conditions). The column is centrifuged brieflyfor 4 min at 1000×g to purify the insulin conjugate (assessed byanalytical HPLC). The collected fractions from the ion exchange column(6 mL) are added dropwise to dry acetone (30 mL) with stirring at 140rpm for 10 min. The resulting suspension is poured into a 50 mLcentrifuge tube which is spun for 10 min at 3500×g. The clearsupernatant is removed from the tubes, and the cake kept and set aside.The supernatant is added to another mL of acetone to obtain a secondcrop of precipitate (after adding a few drops of 5N HCl), which is thencentrifuged for 10 min at 3500×g to obtain a second centrifuge cake.

The combined cakes are dried in vacuo for 1 hour, to obtain a whitesolid. The insulin conjugate BOC groups are removed by the procedure setforth in Example 12 to obtain the biologically active insulin conjugate.

Example 67 Alternative synthesis of 1-17: C6-Amide-AEM-2 (B29) Conjugate

This example describes another method for preparing a B29-conjugatedinsulin from intermediate Z9A of Example 64. Specifically, thisalternative method involves directly coupling compound Z9A tounprotected insulin at the B29 epsilon amino group. Compound Z9A wasdissolved at 53 mM in 1.0 ml of anhydrous DMSO followed by the additionof 0.4 ml (excess) of triethylamine (TEA). The solution was stirredrapidly for 5 minutes at room temperature. Recombinant human insulin(RHI) powder was then dissolved separately at 17.2 mM in 1 ml of a 0.1M, pH 11 sodium carbonate buffer and the pH was subsequently adjusted to10.8 with 1.0N sodium hydroxide. Once dissolved, the entire solution ofCompound Z9A was added dropwise over the course of 10 minutes to theinsulin/carbonate buffer solution. The solution was allowed to stir foran additional 15 minutes after the dropwise addition to ensure completereaction.

The resulting solution was then superdiluted by 10× into a 20 mM pH 5.0HEPES buffered saline solution containing 0.150 M NaCl followed by pHadjustment with dilute HCl to a final pH of 8.0. The aqueous solutionwas first purified by size exclusion using Biogel P2 (Bio-RadLaboratories, Hercules, Calif.) for the desired separation of conjugatedand unconjugated materials. The solution passing through the column voidvolume was then concentrated using a 3 kDa ultrafiltration membrane toapproximately 15 ml. This solution was further purified to obtain thedesired product using preparative reverse phase HPLC on a WatersSymmetryPrep C18, 7 um, 19×150 mm column. Buffer A was deionized watercontaining 0.1% TFA and Buffer B was acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA.Before purification, the column was equilibrated at 15 ml/minutes with a80% A/20% B mobile phase using a Waters DeltraPrep 600 sytem.

Approximately 5 ml of the crude solution was injected onto the columnover the course of 2 minutes at a flow rate of 15 ml/minutes after whicha linear gradient is employed from 80% A/20% B to 75% A/25% B over thenext 5 minutes followed by a slower linear gradient from 75% A/25% B to62% A/38% B over the next 22 minutes. Once the desired fraction wascollected, the solution was rotovapped to remove acetonitrile andlyophilized to obtain pure conjugate whose identity was verified byLC-MS (HT Laboratories, San Diego, Calif.). The final product (95% pureby HPLC) was found to have the desired MW of 6744 g/mol (LC-MS),representing a total of 2.0 AEM molecules conjugated per insulin, withgreater than 85% of the conjugate molecules conjugated at the Lys-B29site (as determined by N-terminal sequencing).

Example 68 Long Acting 1-17 Conjugates

In this example, we set out to determine the time action andglucose-responsive PK profile of long-acting formulations of conjugatesconstructed from Compound Z9A of Example 64. The conjugate for thisexample was synthesized according to the methods described in Example67. The following long-acting formulation was used for this conjugate:

Component Variable Volume (ml) I-17 conjugate unmodified insulin = 16.7%1.000 solution at 2.7 mg/ml 250 mM HEPES NaCl concentration = 1.5M 0.111buffered saline Zinc acetate solution Zinc concentration = 4.6 mg/ml0.124 Cresol solution in water 3% v/v 0.159 pH 7.2 Protamine Protamineconcentration = 12.5 4 × 0.194 solution in 25 mM mg/ml aliquots HEPESbuffered saline

The four hour IP glucose injection (4 g/kg) experiments were performedby dosing 15 U/kg (body weight in grams/1.87=microliters of injectionvolume) of the formulation described above. As shown in FIG. 44, theconjugate exhibits a protracted absorption profile with a significantincrease in measured serum insulin concentration following the 4 hourglucose injection.

Example 69 Conjugates Prepared from 2-aminoethyl Alpha-L-fucopyranosideand 2-aminoethyl N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosamine and Evaluation

The data from Example 42 demonstrates the ability of L-fucose to inhibitthe presumed lectin pathway that leads to the increased PK profile ofexemplary conjugates. It is also known that beta-linked N-acetylglucosamine may also inhibit the pathways for which mannose and fucoseare inhibitors (e.g. see Haurum et al. in Biochem. J. 293:873-878,1993). This example describes how insulin conjugates such as the onesdescribed above may be synthesized using 2-aminoethylalpha-L-fucopyranoside or 2-aminoethyl N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosamineligands. 2-aminoethyl alpha-L-fucopyranoside (MW=207 g/mol) is preparedaccording to the method of Ni et al. in Bioconjugate Chem. 14:232-238,2003. 2-aminoethyl N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosamine (MW=264 g/mol) issynthesized according to the method of Cai et al. in Organic Letters7:4021-4024, 2005. Either one of these ligands may be readilysubstituted for the amino-functionalized sugar ligands in any of theconjugate synthesis methods described above in Examples 11-13, 15,17-27, and 29-31.

The PK of the resulting conjugates are tested in vivo for a-MM,L-fucose, or glucose-induced increases in PK/PD profiles followingsubcutaneous injection in rats according to the methods described inExample 42. The conjugates can also be formulated as sustained releaseformulations according to the methods in Examples 50-55 and subsequentlyevaluated for their protracted and glucose-responsive pharmacokineticsaccording to the 4 hour IP glucose injection protocol outlined in thosesame examples. Alternative methods of sustaining the release of theseconjugates may also be employed such as those described in Examples61-63.

Example 70 Exemplary Conjugate of Formula (VIb-3)

In certain embodiments the present disclosure provides a conjugate offormula (VIb-3):

wherein:

W is an insulin molecule; and

each occurrence of —X is

In certain embodiments, the insulin molecule is selected from the groupconsisting of human insulin, porcine insulin, and bovine insulin. Incertain embodiments, the insulin molecule is insulin glargine or insulindetemir. In certain embodiments, the insulin molecule includes threedisulfide bridges.

Example 71 Exemplary Conjugate 1-6

In certain embodiments the present disclosure provides conjugate I-6:

Example 72 Exemplary Conjugate of Formula (VIc-2)

In certain embodiments the present disclosure provides a conjugate offormula (VIc-2):

wherein:

W is an insulin molecule; and

each occurrence of —X is

In certain embodiments, the insulin molecule is selected from the groupconsisting of human insulin, porcine insulin, and bovine insulin. Incertain embodiments, the insulin molecule is insulin glargine or insulindetemir. In certain embodiments, the insulin molecule includes threedisulfide bridges.

Example 73 Exemplary Conjugate of Formula (VId-1)

In certain embodiments the present disclosure provides a conjugate offormula (VId-1):

wherein:

W is an insulin molecule; and

—X is

In certain embodiments, the insulin molecule is selected from the groupconsisting of human insulin, porcine insulin, and bovine insulin. Incertain embodiments, the insulin molecule is insulin glargine or insulindetemir. In certain embodiments, the insulin molecule includes threedisulfide bridges.

Example 74 Exemplary Formulations

In certain embodiments the present disclosure provides sustained releaseformulations that comprise a conjugate, wherein the formulationcomprises protamine and zinc. It is to be understood that the presentdisclosure encompasses sustained release formulations with any one ofthe conjugates described herein (e.g., without limitation, any one ofthe conjugates of FIG. 45, 49, 55, 60, 61, or 62).

In certain embodiments, the formulation includes from about 1 to about 5mg protamine/mg conjugate; and from about 0.1 to about 0.25 mg zinc/mgconjugate.

In certain embodiments, the formulation includes protamine and zinc in aratio (w/w) in the range of about 40:1 to about 10:1.

In certain embodiments, the formulation further comprises an amount ofunconjugated insulin molecule. In certain embodiments, the formulationcomprises a molar ratio of conjugated insulin molecule to unconjugatedinsulin molecule in the range of about 25:1 to about 2:1.

In certain embodiments, the formulation further comprises anantimicrobial preservative.

In certain embodiments, the antimicrobial preservative is m-cresol. Incertain embodiments, the formulation comprises from about 0.15 to about0.35% v/v m-cresol.

In certain embodiments, the formulation further comprises an isotonicagent. In certain embodiments, the isotonic agent is glycerol. Incertain embodiments, the isotonic agent is NaCl.

In certain embodiments, the formulation comprises from about 0.1 toabout 0.2 M NaCl.

In certain embodiments, the formulation comprises:

protamine and zinc in a ratio (w/w) in the range of about 40:1 to about10:1;

a molar ratio of conjugated insulin molecule to unconjugated insulinmolecule in the range of about 25:1 to about 2:1;

about 0.15 to about 0.35% v/v m-cresol; and

glycerol or from about 0.1 to about 0.2 M NaCl.

In certain embodiments, the formulation comprises:

about 3.6 mg protamine/mg conjugate; and

about 0.2 mg zinc/mg conjugate.

In certain embodiments, the formulation comprises:

about 3.6 mg protamine/mg conjugate;

about 0.2 mg zinc/mg conjugate; and

a molar ratio of conjugated insulin molecule to unconjugated insulinmolecule of about 5:1.

In certain embodiments, the formulation comprises:

about 3.6 mg protamine/mg conjugate;

about 0.2 mg zinc/mg conjugate;

a molar ratio of conjugated insulin molecule to unconjugated insulinmolecule of about 5:1; and

about 0.2% v/v m-cresol.

In certain embodiments, the formulation comprises:

about 3.6 mg protamine/mg conjugate;

about 0.2 mg zinc/mg conjugate;

a molar ratio of conjugated insulin molecule to unconjugated insulinmolecule of about 5:1;

about 0.2% v/v m-cresol; and

glycerol or about 0.15 M NaCl.

Example 75 Insulin Conjugation with Multivalent Activated Esters inOrganic Solvent (Drug Added First) to Give A1-Substituted InsulinConjugates—General Procedure

Step 1

Insulin is dissolved in a 66:37 vol:vol mixture of 100 mM sodiumcarbonate buffer (pH 11) and acetonitrile at a concentration of 14.7 mM.Separately, a monofunctional protecting group-activated ester (e.g.,BOC—NHS) is dissolved at 467 mM in acetonitrile. Once the insulin isdissolved, small aliquots of the monofunctional protectinggroup-activated ester (e.g., BOC—NHS) are added to the insulin solution.The pH is monitored throughout the process and is maintained between10.2-11.0 through the addition of 0.1M sodium hydroxide. The reaction ismonitored by reverse-phase HPLC. Aliquots of the monofunctionalprotecting group-activated ester are added until the HPLC chromatogramshows that all of the unmodified insulin has been reacted and that asubstantial portion of the reaction mixture has been converted toB29-protected insulin. Typically the protecting group will be morehydrophobic in nature and, once reacted onto the insulin, will elute atan HPLC retention time that is longer than the unmodified insulin.

Step 2

Separately, a framework containing N-terminal activated esters isdissolved at 174 mM in 1.267 ml of anhydrous DMSO followed by theaddition of 100 μl (excess) of triethylamine (TEA). The solution isstirred rapidly for 10 minutes at room temperature. In another vial, a370 mM solution of ligand is prepared in an appropriate volume of dryDMSO. Once dissolved, enough solution is added to provide a number ofreactive equivalents equal to three times the number of initialactivated ester groups, N, minus one. For example, if there are N=3initial activated ester groups per framework, then (3×(3−1)×60 mM/370mM)=0.973 ml of ligand solution are added. If there are N=4 initialactivated ester groups per framework, then (3×(4−1)×60 mM/370 mM)=1.46ml of ligand solution are added, and so on. After the ligand solution isadded, the solution is stirred for one more hour at room temperature toensure complete reaction.

Step 3

Once the insulin has been sufficiently reacted with protecting group asdescribed in Step 1, and after sufficient reaction has occurred betweenthe framework and ligand in Step 2, the framework-ligand solution fromStep 2 is added dropwise to the insulin solution in aliquots. Theresulting reaction is monitored by HPLC. Aliquots are added until theB29-protected insulin is fully reacted to give the desiredB29-protected, A1-framework/ligand, insulin-conjugate. Since theligand-framework is often more hydrophilic than the insulin, theappearance of the desired product is signaled by a distinct shift toshorter HPLC retention times as compared to the B29-insulin (from Step1). Once the desired level of reaction has been achieved, the reactionsolution is superdiluted by 10× into a 20 mM pH 5.0 HEPES bufferedsaline solution containing 0.150 M NaCl followed by pH adjustment withdilute HCl to a final pH of 8.0. The aqueous solution is first purifiedby size exclusion using an appropriate solid phase for the desiredseparation of conjugated and unconjugated materials. The solutionpassing through the column void volume is then concentrated using anappropriately sized ultrafiltration membrane to approximately 10 ml.This solution is further purified to obtain the desired product usingpreparative reverse phase HPLC on a Waters C8, 7 um, 19×150 mm column.Buffer A is deionized water containing 0.1% TFA and Buffer B isacetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA. Before purification, the column isequilibrated at 15 ml/minutes with a 80% A/20% B mobile phase using aWaters DeltraPrep 600 system. Approximately 5 ml of the crude solutionis injected onto the column over the course of 2 minutes at a flow rateof 15 ml/minutes after which a linear gradient is employed from 80%A/20% B to 75% A/25% B over the next 5 minutes followed by a slowerlinear gradient from 75% A/25% B to 62% A/38% B over the next 22minutes. The retention time of the desired peak will vary depending onthe insulin, framework, and ligand used. Once collected, the solution isrotovapped to remove acetonitrile and lyophilized to obtain puremono-protected insulin-conjugate.

Step 4

In all cases the protecting group is then removed from theinsulin-conjugate. In cases where a BOC protecting group is used in Step1, the BOC groups are removed by dissolving the lyophilized powderobtained according to Step 3 in 90% TFA/10% anisole for one hour at 4 Cfollowed by 10× superdilution in 25 mM HEPES pH 8.2 buffer containing0.150M NaCl. (If a protecting group other than BOC is present on theamine-bearing drug, then the appropriate deprotection conditions areemployed instead of TFA/anisole. A listing of protection agents anddeprotection conditions may be found in Protecting Groups in OrganicSynthesis, T. W. Greene and P. G. M. Wuts, 3^(rd) edition, John Wiley &Sons, 1999, as described in the Definitions section.) The pH wasadjusted to between 7.0 and 8.0 using NaOH solution after which thematerial is passed through a Biogel P2 column to remove anisole, BOC andother low MW byproducts of deprotection, as well as any othercontaminating salts. The deprotected, purified aqueous conjugatesolution was then concentrated using Amicon 3K membranes (Millipore,Billerica, Mass.) to approximately 66 U of insulin/ml (based on A280measurements) and stored at 4 C until needed. The identity of the finalconjugate is verified by LC-MS (HT Laboratories, San Diego, Calif.). TheA1 site of conjugation is confirmed by N-terminal sequencing (WesternAnalytical, St. Louis, Mo.), which reveals >95% of the Phe-B1-chainterminus present and <5% of the Gly^(A1)-chain terminus present due tothe substitution of Gly^(A1) with the ligand-containing framework.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that otheramine-functionalized drugs can be conjugated to ligand-containingframeworks using analogous procedures to that described in Example 75.One of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that Example 75 isrelevant not only to wild-type insulin, but also to insulin mutants asdescribed herein.

The following insulin-conjugates were prepared according to theprocedure in Example 75 using BOC—NHS as the protecting reagent.

Frame- AE- MW Frame- work sugar Purity (LC- Sugar/ Conjugate work MWLigand MW (HPLC) MS) Insulin I-13: TSAT- 822 AEM 223 97% 6730 2.0TSAT-C6- C6 AEM-2 (A1) I-12: TSAT- 822 AETM 547 97% 7378 2.0 TSAT-C6- C6AETM-2 (A1) I-15: TSPE 813 AEM 223 98% 6829 3.0 TSPE- AEM- 3 (A1) I-14:TSPE 813 AETM 547 94% 7802 3.0 TSPE- AETM- 3 (A1)

The following insulin-conjugates can be prepared according to theprocedure in Example 75. In some embodiments, the insulin-conjugates areprepared using BOC—NHS as the protecting reagent.

Frame- AE- MW Sugar/ Frame- work sugar (LC-MS) Insulin Conjugate work MWLigand MW (expected) (expected) DSS-AEM- DSS 368 AEM 223 6169 1.0 1 (A1)DSS-AEBM- DSS 368 AEBM 385 6331 1.0 1 (A1) DSS- DSS 368 AETM 547 64931.0 AETM-1 (A1) TSAT- TSAT- 822 AEBM 385 7054 2.0 C6-AEBM- C6 2 (A1)TSPE- TSPE 813 AEBM 385 7314 3.0 AEBM-3 (A1)

Example 76 Insulin Conjugation with Multivalent Activated Esters inOrganic Solvent (Drug Added First) to Give A1,B29-Substituted InsulinConjugates—General Procedure

Step 1

A framework containing N-terminal activated esters is dissolved at 147mM in 2.5 ml of anhydrous DMSO followed by the addition of 1.0 mL(excess) of triethylamine (TEA). The solution is stirred rapidly for 10minutes at room temperature. In another vial, a 272 mM solution ofligand is prepared in an appropriate volume of dry DMSO. Once dissolved,enough solution is added to provide a number of reactive equivalentsequal to three times the number of initial activated ester groups, N,minus one. For example, if there are N=3 initial activated ester groupsper framework, then (3×(3−1)×60 mM/370 mM)=0.973 ml of ligand solutionare added. If there are N=4 initial activated ester groups perframework, then (3×(4−1)×60 mM/370 mM)=1.46 ml of ligand solution areadded, and so on. After the ligand solution is added, the solution isstirred for one more hour at room temperature to ensure completereaction.

Step 2

Insulin is dissolved in 1.5 mL of 100 mM sodium carbonate buffer (pH 11)at a concentration of 17.2 mM. Solution pH is maintained at ˜11 byaddition of 0.1 M NaOH as needed. Once the insulin is dissolved, smallaliquots of the framework-ligand solution are added to the insulinsolution. The pH is monitored throughout the process and is maintainedbetween 10.2-11.0 through the addition of 0.1M sodium hydroxide. Thereaction is monitored by reverse-phase HPLC. Aliquots offramework-ligand solution are added until the HPLC chromatogram showsthat substantially all of the unmodified insulin has been reacted andthat a substantial portion of the reaction mixture has been converted toa small portion of mono-reacted insulin/framework/ligand conjugate andthe majority product is di-reacted insulin/framework/ligand conjugate.Typically the framework-ligand construct will be more hydrophilic thanthe unmodified insulin, causing the mono and di-reacted amine-bearingdrug products to elute at HPLC retention times shorter than that of theunmodified insulin. Likewise, the HPLC peak of the desired product, thedisubstituted insulin-conjugate, will appear at a retention time that isshorter than that of the mono-substituted insulin-conjugate.

Step 3

Once the insulin has been sufficiently reacted with framework ligand asdescribed in Step 2, the solution is then superdiluted by 10× into a 20mM pH 5.0 HEPES buffered saline solution containing 0.150 M NaClfollowed by pH adjustment with dilute HCl to a final pH of 8.0. Theaqueous solution is first purified by size exclusion using anappropriate solid phase for the desired separation of conjugated andunconjugated materials. The solution passing through the column voidvolume is then concentrated using an appropriately sized ultrafiltrationmembrane to approximately 10 ml. This solution is further purified toobtain the desired product using preparative reverse phase HPLC on aWaters C8, 7 um, 19×150 mm column. Buffer A is deionized watercontaining 0.1% TFA and Buffer B is acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA.Before purification, the column is equilibrated at 15 ml/minutes with a80% A/20% B mobile phase using a Waters DeltraPrep 600 system.Approximately 5 ml of the crude solution is injected onto the columnover the course of 2 minutes at a flow rate of 15 ml/minutes after whicha linear gradient is employed from 80% A/20% B to 75% A/25% B over thenext 5 minutes followed by a slower linear gradient from 75% A/25% B to62% A/38% B over the next 22 minutes. The retention time of the desiredpeak will vary depending on the insulin, framework, and ligand used.Once collected, the solution is rotovapped to remove acetonitrile andlyophilized to obtain pure conjugate. The identity of the finalconjugate is verified by LC-MS (HT Laboratories, San Diego, Calif.). TheA1, B29 sites of conjugation are confirmed by N-terminal sequencing(Western Analytical, St. Louis, Mo.), which reveals >95% of thePhe-B1-chain terminus present and <5% of the Gly^(A1)-chain terminuspresent due to the substitution of Gly^(A1) with the ligand-containingframework.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that otheramine-functionalized drugs can be conjugated to ligand-containingframeworks using analogous procedures to that described in Example 76.One of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that Example 76 isrelevant not only to wild-type insulin, but also to insulin mutants asdescribed herein.

The following insulin-conjugates were prepared according to theprocedure in Example 76.

Frame- AE- MW Frame- work sugar Purity (LC- Sugar/ Conjugate work MWLigand MW (HPLC) MS) Insulin II-4: DSS- DSS 368 AEM 223 92% 6531 2.0Di-sub- AEM-1 (A1, B29) II-3: DSS- DSS 368 AETM 547 94% 7179 2.0 Di-sub-AETM-1 (A1, B29) II-1: TSAT- 822 AEM 223 97% 7653 4.0 TSAT-C6- C6Di-sub- AEM-2 (A1, B29) II-2: TSAT- 822 AETM 547 97% 8949 4.0 TSAT-C6-C6 Di-sub- AETM-2 (A1, B29)

The following insulin-conjugates can be prepared according to theprocedure in Example 76.

AE- MW Frame- Framework sugar (LC- Sugar/ Conjugate work MW Ligand MWMS) Insulin DSS- DSS 368 AEBM 385 6855 2.0 Di-sub- AEBM-1 (A1, B29)TSAT-C6- TSAT-C6 822 AEBM 385 8301 4.0 Di-sub- AEBM-2 (A1, B29) TSPE-Di-TSPE 813 AEM 223 7852 6.0 sub-AEM- 3 (A1, B29) TSPE-Di- TSPE 813 AEBM385 8824 6.0 sub-AEBM- 3 (A1, B29) TSPE-Di- TSPE 813 AETM 547 9796 6.0sub-AETM-3 (A1, B29)

Example 77 Insulin Conjugation with Multivalent Activated Esters inOrganic Solvent (Drug Added First) to Give A1,B1-Substituted InsulinConjugates

Step 1

A framework containing N-terminal activated esters is dissolved at 147mM in 2.5 ml of anhydrous DMSO followed by the addition of 1.0 mL(excess) of triethylamine (TEA). The solution is stirred rapidly for 10minutes at room temperature. In another vial, a 272 mM solution ofligand is prepared in an appropriate volume of dry DMSO. Once dissolved,enough solution is added to provide a number of reactive equivalentsequal to three times the number of initial activated ester groups, N,minus one. For example, if there are N=3 initial activated ester groupsper framework, then (3×(3−1)×60 mM/370 mM)=0.973 ml of ligand solutionare added. If there are N=4 initial activated ester groups perframework, then (3×(4−1)×60 mM/370 mM)=1.46 ml of ligand solution areadded, and so on. After the ligand solution is added, the solution isstirred for one more hour at room temperature to ensure completereaction.

Step 2

An insulin containing three reactive amine groups each with adistinguishable pKa (e.g., in the case of wild-type insulin, pKaGly^(A1)=8.0, Phe^(B1)=6.7, Lys^(εB29)=11.2; see Mei et al., Pharm. Res.16:1680-1686, 1999) that has been previously mono-protected at thehighest pKa amine group (e.g., Lys^(B29)) with a monofunctionalprotecting group-activated ester (e.g., BOC—NHS) is dissolved in 1.5 mLof DMSO at a concentration of 17.2 mM. Once the B29-BOC-insulin isdissolved, small aliquots of the framework-ligand solution are added tothe B29-BOC-insulin solution. The reaction is monitored by reverse-phaseHPLC. Aliquots of framework-ligand solution are added until the HPLCchromatogram shows that substantially all of the B29-BOC-insulin hasbeen reacted and that a substantial portion of the reaction mixture hasbeen converted to a small portion of mono-reactedB29-BOC-insulin/framework/ligand conjugate and the majority product isdi-reacted B29-BOC-insulin/framework/ligand conjugate. Typically theframework-ligand construct will be more hydrophilic than theB29-BOC-insulin, causing the mono-conjugated and di-conjugatedB29-BOC-insulin-conjugates to elute at HPLC retention times shorter thanthat of the unmodified B29-BOC-insulin. Likewise, the HPLC peak for thedesired product, the disubstituted B29-BOC-insulin-conjugate, willappear at a retention time that is shorter than that of themono-substituted B29-BOC-insulin-conjugate.

Step 3

Once the B29-BOC-insulin has been sufficiently reacted withligand-containing framework as described in Step 2, the solution is thensuperdiluted by 10× into a 20 mM pH 5.0 HEPES buffered saline solutioncontaining 0.150 M NaCl followed by pH adjustment with dilute HCl to afinal pH of 8.0. The aqueous solution is first purified by sizeexclusion using an appropriate solid phase for the desired separation ofconjugated and unconjugated materials. The solution passing through thecolumn void volume is then concentrated using an appropriately sizedultrafiltration membrane to approximately 10 ml. This solution isfurther purified to obtain the desired product using preparative reversephase HPLC on a Waters C8, 7 um, 19×150 mm column. Buffer A is deionizedwater containing 0.1% TFA and Buffer B is acetonitrile containing 0.1%TFA. Before purification, the column is equilibrated at 15 ml/minuteswith a 80% A/20% B mobile phase using a Waters DeltraPrep 600 sytem.Approximately 5 ml of the crude solution is injected onto the columnover the course of 2 minutes at a flow rate of 15 ml/minutes after whicha linear gradient is employed from 80% A/20% B to 75% A/25% B over thenext 5 minutes followed by a slower linear gradient from 75% A/25% B to62% A/38% B over the next 22 minutes. The retention time of the desiredpeak will vary depending on the insulin, framework, and ligand used.Once collected, the solution is rotovapped to remove acetonitrile andlyophilized to obtain pure conjugate.

Step 4

In all cases the protecting group is then removed from the conjugate. Incases where a BOC protecting group is used in Step 1, the BOC groups areremoved by dissolving the lyophilized powder obtained according to Step3 in 90% TFA/10% anisole for one hour at 4 C followed by 10×superdilution in 25 mM HEPES pH 8.2 buffer containing 0.150M NaCl. (If aprotecting group other than BOC is present on the amine-bearing drug,then the appropriate deprotection conditions are employed instead ofTFA/anisole. A listing of protection agents and deprotection conditionsmay be found in Protecting Groups in Organic Synthesis, T. W. Greene andP. G. M. Wuts, 3^(rd) edition, John Wiley & Sons, 1999, as described inthe Definitions section.) The pH was adjusted to between 7.0 and 8.0using NaOH solution after which the material is passed through a BiogelP2 column to remove anisole, BOC and other low MW byproducts ofdeprotection, as well as any other contaminating salts. The deprotected,purified aqueous conjugate solution was then concentrated using Amicon3K membranes (Millipore, Billerica, Mass.) to approximately 66 U ofinsulin/ml (based on A280 measurements) and stored at 4 C until needed.The identity of the final conjugate is verified by LC-MS (HTLaboratories, San Diego, Calif.). The A1, B1 sites of conjugation areconfirmed by N-terminal sequencing (Western Analytical, St. Louis, Mo.),which reveals essentially no Phe-B1-chain terminus present and noGly-A1-chain terminus present due to the substitution at both terminiwith the ligand-containing framework.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that otheramine-functionalized drugs can be conjugated to ligand-containingframeworks using analogous procedures to that described in Example 77.One of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that Example 77 isrelevant not only to wild-type insulin, but also to insulin mutants asdescribed herein.

Conjugate II-5 was prepared according to the procedure in Example 77using BOC—NHS as the protecting reagent.

Frame- AE- MW Frame- work sugar Purity (LC- Sugar/ Conjugate work MWLigand MW (HPLC) MS) Insulin II-5: TSAT- 822 AETM 547 97% 8949 4.0TSAT-C6- C6 Di-sub- AETM-2 (A1, B1)

The following insulin-conjugates can be prepared according to theprocedure in Example 77.

Frame- AE- MW (LC- Sugar/ Frame- work sugar MS) Insulin Identity work MWLigand MW (expected) (expected) DSS-Di- DSS 368 AEM 223 6531 2.0sub-AEM- 1 (A1, B1) DSS-Di- DSS 368 AEBM 385 6855 2.0 sub- AEBM-1 (A1,B1) DSS-Di- DSS 368 AETM 547 7179 2.0 sub- AETM-1 (A1, B1) TSAT-C6-TSAT- 822 AEM 223 7653 4.0 Di-sub- C6 AEM-2 (A1, B1) TSAT-C6- TSAT- 822AEBM 385 8301 4.0 Di-sub- C6 AEBM-2 (A1, B1) TSAT-C6- TSAT- 822 AETM 5478949 4.0 Di-sub- C6 AETM-2 (A1, B1) TSPE-Di- TSPE 813 AEM 223 7852 6.0sub-AEM- 3 (A1, B1) TSPE-Di- TSPE 813 AEBM 385 8824 6.0 sub- AEBM-3 (A1,B1) TSPE-Di- TSPE 813 AETM 547 9796 6.0 sub- AETM-3 (A1, B1)

Example 78 Insulin Conjugation with Multivalent Activated Esters inOrganic Solvent (Drug Added First) to Give B1,B29-Substituted InsulinConjugates

Step 1

A framework containing N-terminal activated esters is dissolved at 147mM in 2.5 ml of anhydrous DMSO. No base is added, in contrast withprevious examples. The solution is stirred rapidly for 10 minutes atroom temperature. In another vial, a 272 mM solution of ligand isprepared in an appropriate volume of dry DMSO. Once dissolved, enoughsolution is added to provide a number of reactive equivalents equal tothree times the number of initial activated ester groups, N, minus one.For example, if there are N=3 initial activated ester groups perframework, then (3×(3−1)×60 mM/370 mM)=0.973 ml of ligand solution areadded. If there are N=4 initial activated ester groups per framework,then (3×(4−1)×60 mM/370 mM)=1.46 ml of ligand solution are added, and soon. After the ligand solution is added, the solution is stirred for onemore hour at room temperature to ensure complete reaction.

Step 2

An insulin containing three reactive amine groups each with adistinguishable pKa (e.g., in the case of wild-type insulin, pKaGly^(A1)=8.0, Phe^(B1)=6.7, Lys^(εB29)=11.2; see Mei et al., Pharm. Res.16:1680-1686, 1999) that has been previously mono-protected at the aminegroup with the intermediate pKa (e.g., Gly^(A1) for wild-type insulin)with a monofunctional protecting group-activated ester (e.g., BOC—NHS)is dissolved in 1.5 mL of DMSO at a concentration of 17.2 mM.(A1-BOC-insulin can be prepared using the procedure in Example 8 butreacting with fewer equivalents of the BOC reagent in order to yield adistribution of A1,B29-diBOC-insulin, A1-BOC-insulin, andB29-BOC-insulin products. A1-BOC-insulin can be isolated by RP-HPLC andconfirmed by N-terminal sequencing.) Once the A1-BOC-insulin isdissolved, small aliquots of the framework-ligand solution are added tothe A1-BOC-insulin solution. The reaction is monitored by reverse-phaseHPLC. Aliquots of framework-ligand solution are added until the HPLCchromatogram shows that substantially all of the unmodifiedA1-BOC-insulin has been reacted and that a substantial portion of thereaction mixture has been converted to a small portion ofmono-conjugated A1-BOC-insulin/framework/ligand conjugate and themajority product is di-conjugated A1-BOC-insulin/framework/ligandconjugate. Typically the framework-ligand construct will be morehydrophilic than the A1-BOC-insulin, causing the mono and di-substitutedA1-BOC-insulin-conjugates to elute at HPLC retention times shorter thanthat of the unmodified A1-BOC-insulin. Likewise, the HPLC peak of thedesired product, the di-substituted A1-BOC-insulin-conjugate, willappear at a retention time that is shorter than that of themono-substituted A1-BOC-insulin-conjugate.

Step 3

Once the A1-BOC-insulin has been sufficiently reacted with frameworkligand as described in Step 2, the solution is then superdiluted by 10×into a 20 mM pH 5.0 HEPES buffered saline solution containing 0.150 MNaCl followed by pH adjustment with dilute HCl to a final pH of 8.0. Theaqueous solution is first purified by size exclusion using anappropriate solid phase for the desired separation of conjugated andunconjugated materials. The solution passing through the column voidvolume is then concentrated using an appropriately sized ultrafiltrationmembrane to approximately 10 ml. This solution is further purified toobtain the desired product using preparative reverse phase HPLC on aWaters C8, 7 um, 19×150 mm column. Buffer A is deionized watercontaining 0.1% TFA and Buffer B is acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA.Before purification, the column is equilibrated at 15 ml/minutes with a80% A/20% B mobile phase using a Waters DeltraPrep 600 sytem.Approximately 5 ml of the crude solution is injected onto the columnover the course of 2 minutes at a flow rate of 15 ml/minutes after whicha linear gradient is employed from 80% A/20% B to 75% A/25% B over thenext 5 minutes followed by a slower linear gradient from 75% A/25% B to62% A/38% B over the next 22 minutes. The retention time of the desiredpeak will vary depending on the drug, framework, and ligand used. Oncecollected, the solution is rotovapped to remove acetonitrile andlyophilized to obtain pure conjugate.

Step 4

In all cases the protecting group is then removed from the conjugate. Incases where a BOC protecting group is used in Step 1, the BOC groups areremoved by dissolving the lyophilized powder obtained according to Step3 in 90% TFA/10% anisole for one hour at 4 C. If a protecting groupother than BOC is present on the amine-bearing drug, then theappropriate deprotection conditions are employed instead of TFA/anisole.A listing of protection agents and deprotection conditions may be foundin Protecting Groups in Organic Synthesis, T. W. Greene and P. G. M.Wuts, 3^(rd) edition, John Wiley & Sons, 1999, as described in theDefinitions section. The deprotection step is followed by 10×superdilution in 25 mM HEPES pH 8.2 buffer containing 0.150M NaCl. ThepH is adjusted to between 7.0 and 8.0 using NaOH solution after whichthe material is passed through a Biogel P2 column to remove anisole, BOCand other low MW byproducts of deprotection, as well as any othercontaminating salts. The deprotected, purified aqueous conjugatesolution is then concentrated using Amicon 3K membranes (Millipore,Billerica, Mass.) to approximately 66 U of insulin/ml (based on A280measurements) and stored at 4 C until needed. The identity of the finalconjugate is verified by LC-MS (HT Laboratories, San Diego, Calif.). TheB1 site of conjugation is confirmed by N-terminal sequencing (WesternAnalytical, St. Louis, Mo.), which reveals >95% of the Gly-A1-chainterminus present and <5% of the Phe-B1-chain terminus present due to thesubstitution of Phe-B1 with the ligand-containing framework.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that otheramine-functionalized drugs can be conjugated to ligand-containingframeworks using analogous procedures to that described in Example 78.One of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that Example 78 isrelevant not only to wild-type insulin, but also to insulin mutants asdescribed herein.

The following insulin-conjugates can be prepared according to theprocedure in Example 78.

Frame- AE- MW Sugar/ Frame- work sugar (LC-MS) Insulin Conjugate work MWLigand MW (expected) (expected) II-7: DSS- DSS 368 AETM 547 7179 2.0Di-sub- AETM-1 (B1, B29) II-6: TSAT- TSAT- 822 AETM 547 8949 4.0C6-Di-sub- C6 AETM-2 (B1, B29) DSS-Di- DSS 368 AEM 223 6531 2.0 sub-AEM-1 (B1, B29) DSS-Di- DSS 368 AEBM 385 6855 2.0 sub-AEBM- 1 (B1, B29)TSAT-C6- TSAT- 822 AEM 223 7653 4.0 Di-sub- C6 AEM-2 (B1, B29) TSAT-C6-TSAT- 822 AEBM 385 8301 4.0 Di-sub- C6 AEBM-2 (B1, B29) TSPE-Di- TSPE813 AEM 223 7852 6.0 sub-AEM- 3 (B1, B29) TSPE-Di- TSPE 813 AEBM 3858824 6.0 sub-AEBM- 3 (B1, B29) TSPE-Di- TSPE 813 AETM 547 9796 6.0sub-AETM- 3 (B1, B29)

Example 79 In Vivo Half Life/Elimination Rate Comparison

In order to determine the rate at which the I-6 conjugate was clearedfrom serum in vivo in the presence or absence of inhibitory sugars suchas glucose or a-MM, the following experiment was conducted. In each casethe soluble conjugate (or RHI as a control) was dosed at 0.4 mgconjugate/kg body weight into dual jugular vein cannulated maleSprague-Dawley rats (Taconic, JV/JV, 350-400 g, n=3).

To determine the elimination rate in the presence of elevated glucoselevels, one hour before the start of the experiment one rat cannula wasconnected to a syringe infusion pump containing a sterile 50% w/vglucose solution. The pump infusion rate was adjusted by theexperimenter to ensure that the blood glucose levels in the animalremained above 300 mg/dL at all times during the experiment. Bloodglucose was measured using commercially available test strips (PrecisionXtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). In a typical experiment,it was found that the infusion pump rate required to keep the animalsabove 300 mg/dL was typically greater than 85 uL/min. A blood sample wastaken at t=0 min, after which a sterile conjugate solution or controlinsulin was injected intravenously via the second rat cannula, followedimmediately by a chase solution of heparin-saline to ensure that all ofthe conjugate dose was administered into the animal. After an additionalflush of the cannula line with heparin-saline, the second cannula wasused to collect blood samples at t=1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, and180 minutes post-dose.

To determine the elimination rate in the presence of a-MM, one hourbefore the start of the experiment one rat cannula was connected to asyringe infusion pump containing a sterile 25% w/v a-MM solution. Thepump infusion rate was adjusted by the experimenter, but was typicallyset at 85 uL/min. A blood sample was taken at t=0 min, after which asterile conjugate solution or control insulin was injected intravenouslyvia the second rat cannula, followed immediately by a chase solution ofheparin-saline to ensure that all of the conjugate dose was administeredinto the animal. After an additional flush of the cannula line withheparin-saline, the second cannula was used to collect blood samples att=1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 minutes post-dose.

Throughout the experiment, blood glucose was measured using commerciallyavailable test strips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park,Ill.). Blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C to collect theserum, and serum insulin or serum conjugate concentrations weresubsequently measured with a commercially available ELISA kit(Iso-Insulin ELISA, Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). Insulin or conjugateserum concentration vs. time data was best fit with the sum of twoindependent decaying exponentials (C(t)=a exp(−k_(a)t)+b exp(−k_(b)t))according to the two-compartment model, where t1/2(a)=(ln 2)/k_(a) andt1/2(b)=(ln 2)/k_(b).

Results are shown in FIG. 46. The left panel demonstrates thesignificantly higher (>5×) elimination rate for the I-6 conjugate versusRHI in the absence of a-MM or glucose. The right panel shows that theelimination rate decreases somewhat (˜50%) in the presence of glucose(G400 infusion) and quite substantially (˜400%) in the presence of a-MM(a-MM infusion).

Example 80 Glucose-Responsive PK for I-6 i.v. Infusion

In this example, the i.v. elimination rate experiment described inExample 79 was modified from a single i.v. bolus of 0.4 mg conjugate/kgbody weight to a continuous i.v. infusion. The goal of the experimentwas to maintain a constant input rate of conjugate (or RHI as a control)for six hours with an i.p. injection of glucose administered at the fourhour time point to determine the resulting effect on serum conjugate (orRHI) concentration. Dual jugular vein cannulated male Sprague-Dawleyrats (Taconic, JV/JV, 350-400 g, n=3) were used in each experiment suchthat one jugular vein line was used for conjugate or RHI infusion andthe other for blood collection.

For RHI, a 50 mU/ml solution was sterile filtered through a 0.2 umfiltration membrane and infused at 0.07 ml/min to provide a constantinput rate of 3.5 mU/min for the entire six hour experiment. A bloodsample was taken at t=0 min, after which the constant i.v. infusion wasinitiated. The second cannula was used to collect blood samples at t=30,60, 120, 180 and 240 min. At t=240 min, a 4 g/kg dose of glucose wasadministered via i.p. injection followed by blood collection at t=255,270, 300, 330 and 360 min.

For the I-6 conjugate, a 150 mU/ml solution was sterile filtered througha 0.2 μm filtration membrane and infused at 0.10 ml/min to provide aconstant input rate of 15 mU/min for the entire six hour experiment. Ablood sample was taken at t=0 min, after which the constant i.v.infusion was initiated. The second cannula was used to collect bloodsamples at t=30, 60, 120, 180 and 240 min. At t=240 min, a 1, 2, or 4g/kg dose of glucose was administered via i.p. injection followed byblood collection at t=255, 270, 300, 330 and 360 min.

Throughout the experiments, blood glucose was measured usingcommercially available test strips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories,Abbott Park, Ill.). Blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C tocollect the serum, and serum insulin or serum conjugate concentrationswere subsequently measured with a commercially available ELISA kit(Iso-Insulin ELISA, Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden).

The first two panels of FIG. 47 compare the blood glucose and seruminsulin/conjugate concentration profiles for a 3.5 mU/min infusion ofRHI and 15 mU/min infusion of 1-6 before and after a 4 g/kg i.p. glucoseinjection. RHI infusion causes significant hypoglycemia prior to glucoseinjection compared to the I-6 infusion. Following the i.p. glucoseinjection, the measured serum insulin concentration of 1-6 immediatelyincreases by over 300% as the blood glucose concentration increasesfollowed by a rapid return to baseline levels as the glucoseconcentration decreases. On the other hand, there is no significantchange in measured serum insulin concentration for RHI after i.p.glucose injection under the same experimental conditions. The next threepanels of FIG. 47 show that the extent to which the measured insulinconcentration increases during i.p. glucose injection is directlyrelated to the dose of glucose administered and the resulting bloodglucose levels. For example, only a 50% peak to baseline change in seruminsulin concentration is observed for the 1 g/kg glucose injectionversus the 300% peak to baseline change observed for the 4 g/kg dose.

Example 81 In Vivo Elimination Rate for Insulin-Conjugates with andwithout Sugar

In order to determine the rate at which the I-9 conjugate was clearedfrom serum in vivo in the presence or absence of inhibitory sugars suchas glucose or a-MM, the following experiment was conducted. In each casethe soluble conjugate (or RHI as a control) was dosed at 0.4 mgconjugate/kg body weight into dual jugular vein cannulated maleSprague-Dawley rats (Taconic, JV/JV, 350-400 g, n=3).

To determine the elimination rate in the presence of elevated glucoselevels, one hour before the start of the experiment one rat cannula wasconnected to a syringe infusion pump containing a sterile 50% w/vglucose solution. The pump infusion rate was adjusted by theexperimenter to ensure that the blood glucose levels in the animalremained above 300 mg/dL at all times during the experiment. Bloodglucose was measured using commercially available test strips (PrecisionXtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). In a typical experiment,it was found that the infusion pump rate required to keep the animalsabove 300 mg/dL was typically greater than 85 μL/min. A blood sample wastaken at t=0 min, after which a sterile conjugate solution or controlinsulin was injected intravenously via the second rat cannula, followedimmediately by a chase solution of heparin-saline to ensure that all ofthe conjugate dose was administered into the animal. After an additionalflush of the cannula line with heparin-saline, the second cannula wasused to collect blood samples at t=1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, and180 minutes post-dose.

To determine the elimination rate in the presence of a-MM, one hourbefore the start of the experiment one rat cannula was connected to asyringe infusion pump containing a sterile 25% w/v a-MM solution. Thepump infusion rate was adjusted by the experimenter, but was typicallyset at 85 uL/min. A blood sample was taken at t=0 min, after which asterile conjugate solution or control insulin was injected intravenouslyvia the second rat cannula, followed immediately by a chase solution ofheparin-saline to ensure that all of the conjugate dose was administeredinto the animal. After an additional flush of the cannula line withheparin-saline, the second cannula was used to collect blood samples att=1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 minutes post-dose.

Throughout the experiment, blood glucose was measured using commerciallyavailable test strips (Precision Xtra, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park,Ill.). Blood from each timepoint was centrifuged at 4 C to collect theserum, and serum insulin or serum conjugate concentrations weresubsequently measured with a commercially available ELISA kit(Iso-Insulin ELISA, Mercodia, Uppsala, Sweden). Insulin or conjugateserum concentration vs. time data was best fit with the sum of twoindependent decaying exponentials (C(t)=a exp(−k_(a)t)+b exp(−k_(b)t))according to the two-compartment model, where t1/2(a)=(ln 2)/k_(a) andt1/2(b)=(ln 2)/k_(b). The first panel of FIG. 48 shows that theelimination rate of unmodified insulin is not affected in the presenceof sugars (glucose G400 or a-MM). For the sake of comparison, the lastpanel of FIG. 48 showing conjugate I-6 with sugar infusion is replottedfrom the Example 79 results. The middle panel of FIG. 48 showingconjugate I-9 with sugar infusion shows a much more pronounced decreasein elimination rate (˜350% vs. ˜50%) in the presence of glucose (G400infusion) versus the I-6 conjugate. Conjugate I-9 also demonstrates amore significant decrease in elimination rate (˜700% vs. ˜400%) in thepresence of a-MM (a-MM infusion) versus the I-6 conjugate.

Example 82 Mechanism Verification and Glucose-Responsive Performance inMiniature Swine

In order to determine whether the glucose-responsive insulin-conjugateresults that are described above could be extended to other speciesbeyond rats, we focused on exploring the sugar-dependent in vivoelimination rate in human-representative, non-diabetic, male miniatureswine (Yucatan strain), also called “minipigs” herein. A subset ofinsulin-conjugates summarized in FIG. 49 were tested to initiallydetermine the effects of sugar affinity and multivalency onsugar-dependent elimination rates. The conjugates are shown in FIG. 45as I-7, I-6, I-11, and II-2. All conjugates used in this study weresynthesized according to the general methods described in Example 20. Toproduce the A1,B29-disubstituted AETM-2 insulin-conjugate II-2,approximately ten times the amount of multivalent active ester frameworkand AETM ligand per insulin molecule was used compared to theB29-monosubstituted AETM-2 insulin-conjugate (I-6) synthesis.

In each experiment, the insulin-conjugate was dosed i.v. at 0.1 U/kginto non-diabetic, dual-vascular access ported minipigs and blood wascollected at frequent time intervals post-injection. To determine theserum elimination rate in the presence of glucose, a sterile 50% w/vglucose solution was infused i.v. into one port using a syringe pump onehour prior to administering the insulin-conjugate, and the rate wasadjusted throughout the entire experiment to ensure that the bloodglucose levels in the animal remained at or near 400 mg/dl (typically80-150 ml/h). To determine the serum elimination rate in the presence ofa-MM, the glucose solution was replaced with a sterile 25% w/v a-MMsolution and the pump infusion rate held constant throughout theexperiment at 80 ml/h. In each case, the resulting insulin-conjugateconcentration vs. time data was fit with the sum of two independentdecaying exponentials (C(t)=α exp(−k_(α)t)+P3 exp(−k_(β)t)) according tothe two-compartment model.

At 400 mg/dl the high levels of endogenous glucose-induced porcineinsulin crossreacted with our insulin-conjugate immunoassay. As such,the PK results from the glucose infusion experiments requiredsubtraction of values obtained from a porcine insulin-only assay leadingto a particularly “noisy” set of data. Since a-MM does not induceendogenous porcine insulin secretion, data from the a-MM infusionstudies were used as our primary indicator of sugar-responsive changesin insulin-conjugate half-life. Interestingly, in the pigs, the AETM-2insulin-conjugate (I-6) showed only a modest 1.7× increase in t_(1/2) inthe presence of a-MM compared to a 4.0× increase in the rats (FIG. 56).However, in the pigs, the A1,B29-di-substituted AETM-2 insulin-conjugate(II-2) demonstrated an almost 10-fold increase in t_(1/2) in thepresence of a-MM (FIGS. 50 and 51). Tabular results for other conjugatesare shown in FIG. 57.

The area over the glucose lowering curve for the i.v. dose ofdi-substituted AETM-2 insulin-conjugate (II-2) in the presence of a-MMwas approximately 2.6× higher than in the absence of sugar (FIG. 52).FIG. 59 compares the differences in bioactivity between RHI, I-6, andII-2 (di-substituted AETM-2 insulin-conjugate), and II-3. All three ofthe insulin-conjugates contain the high affinity AETM sugar ligands. Inthis selected set of insulin-conjugates, there is no correlation betweensugar-dependent half-life and bioactivity.

Conjugate II-2 was injected sub-Q as a soluble solution at doses of0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 U/kg in both non-diabetic, normoglycemic andalloxan-diabetic, hyperglycemic minipigs to determine its ability tolower glucose in diabetics without causing hypoglycemia in non-diabeticanimals. The insulin-conjugate demonstrated a significant dose-dependentreduction in blood glucose levels in the diabetics with absolutely nohypoglycemia or signs of glucose-lowering in the non-diabetics (FIG.53). In comparison, RHI injected at 0.063 and 0.125 U/kg causedsignificant glucose-lowering in the diabetic animals with noticeablehypoglycemia and significant glucose-lowering and hypoglycemia in thenon-diabetic animals (FIG. 54). Based on these preliminary results, asingle injection of approximately 0.5 U/kg of soluble insulin-conjugateII-2 provided hypoglycemia-free glucose control for 6-8 hours indiabetic minipigs. Serum elimination rates of sub-Q injected II-2 weredetermined in diabetic and normal minipigs (FIG. 58). Similar PKprofiles were observed between diabetics and normals for all doses.

Taken together, these early results demonstrate that an endogenouslectin-based mechanism exists in the minipigs that can be exploitedthrough selection of sugar affinity and multivalency. It appears thatinsulin-conjugates with higher affinities and multivalencies provideimproved hypoglycemia-free glycemic control in minipigs as compared torats.

Example 83 Optimization Studies in Miniature Swine

Based on the stark difference in performance of II-2 versus the otherconjugates in FIG. 49, it is desirable to separate and quantify theeffect of insulin conjugation site (A1 vs. B29) from the effects ofsugar affinity and valency. Using similar conjugation techniques as wereused to produce the insulin-conjugates in FIG. 49, we therefore havesynthesized the array of insulin-conjugates listed in FIG. 55 (shown inFIG. 45 as I-12, I-13, I-14, I-15, II-1, II-3, and II-4), as well as thecontrol compounds shown in FIG. 60. All the di-substituted conjugates tobe used in this study were synthesized according to the general methodsdescribed in Example 20. To produce the A1, B29-disubstitutedinsulin-conjugates, approximately ten times the amount of multivalentactive ester framework and sugar affinity ligand per insulin moleculewas used compared to the B29-monosubstituted insulin-conjugatesynthesis. The A1-only substituted materials were also preparedaccording to the general methods described Example 20. However, in thiscase B29-mono-BOC protected insulin isolated from a BOC protectionsynthesis described in Example 8 using half the number of equivalents ofdi-tert-butyl-dicarbonate was used. Once purified, the BOC groups wereremoved from the conjugate using a TFA/anisole method described inExample 12.

In general, the sugar-responsive half-lives and glucose-lowering effectsof each of these insulin-conjugates were determined as follows. Asdescribed above, each insulin-conjugate was dosed i.v. at 0.1 U/kg intonon-diabetic, dual-vascular access ported minipigs and blood wascollected at frequent time intervals post-injection. To determine theserum elimination rate in the presence of a-MM, a sterile 25% w/v a-MMsolution was infused i.v. into one port using a syringe pump (80 ml/h)one hour prior to administering the insulin-conjugate, and the rate washeld constant throughout the entire experiment. In each case, theresulting insulin-conjugate concentration vs. time data was fit with thesum of two independent decaying exponentials (C(t)=α exp(−k_(α)t)+βexp(−k_(β)t)) according to the two-compartment model. Comparison of theβ-phase elimination rates with and without a-MM infusion was used toidentify suitable conjugates.

FIG. 61 shows a comparison of glucose levels when variousinsulin-conjugates were injected i.v. into minipigs. Conjugate I-12 (A1substitution with AETM-2) was slightly more effective in loweringglucose than conjugate I-6 (B29 substitution with AETM-2). Substitutionof conjugate I-6 at the A1 position with polyethylene oxide to giveconjugate C3 reduced overall bioactivity but did not increase the a-MMinduced bioactivity. Substitution of conjugate I-6 at the A1 positionwith another TSAT-C6-AETM-2 scaffold to give conjugate II-2 reducedoverall bioactivity but increased the a-MM induced bioactivity.

FIG. 62 shows a comparison of glucose levels when various A1,B29di-substituted insulin-conjugates were injected i.v. into minipigs.A1,B29 di-substitution of insulin with acetyl (conjugate C7) or PEO(conjugate C4) groups did not substantially reduce overall bioactivity.Furthermore, the C7 and C4 conjugates did not display distinguishablea-MM-induced bioactivity effects. Conjugate II-3 had substantiallyreduced bioactivity versus conjugates C7 and C4, but its bioactivity wasvirtually restored in the presence of a-MM.

Other Embodiments

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from a consideration of the specification or practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A conjugate comprising an insulin molecule conjugated toone or more ligands wherein at least one ligand is aminoethyltrimannosehaving the formula;

wherein the conjugate is characterized in that, when the conjugate isadministered to a mammal in the absence of an exogenous multivalentsaccharide-binding molecule, at least one pharmacokinetic orpharmacodynamic property of the conjugate is sensitive to serumconcentration of a saccharide.
 2. The conjugate of claim 1, wherein thesaccharide in the serum is glucose or alpha-methyl mannose.
 3. Theconjugate of claim 1, wherein the drug is an insulin molecule conjugatedvia the A1 amino acid residue, via the B1 amino acid residue, via theepsilon-amino group of Lys^(B29), via the epsilon-amino group ofLys^(B28), or via the epsilon-amino group of LysB3.
 4. The conjugate ofclaim 1, wherein the insulin molecule is truncated.
 5. The conjugate ofclaim 1, wherein the conjugate includes two or more separate ligandswherein at least one ligand is aminoethyltrimannose.
 6. The conjugate ofclaim 1, wherein the conjugate has the general formula (II):

wherein: each occurrence of

represents a potential branch within the conjugate; each occurrence of

represents a potential repeat within a branch of the conjugate; eachoccurrence of

is independently a covalent bond, a carbon atom, a heteroatom, or anoptionally substituted group selected from the group consisting of acyl,aliphatic, heteroaliphatic, aryl, heteroaryl, and heterocyclic; eachoccurrence of T is independently a covalent bond or a bivalent, straightor branched, saturated or unsaturated, optionally substituted C₁₋₃₀hydrocarbon chain wherein one or more methylene units of T areoptionally and independently replaced by —O—, —S—, —N(R)—, —C(O)—,—C(O)O—, —OC(O)—, —N(R)C(O)—, —C(O)N(R)—, —S(O)—, —S(O)₂—, —N(R)SO₂—,—SO₂N(R)—, a heterocyclic group, an aryl group, or a heteroaryl group;each occurrence of R is independently hydrogen, a suitable protectinggroup, or an acyl moiety, arylalkyl moiety, aliphatic moiety, arylmoiety, heteroaryl moiety, or heteroaliphatic moiety; —B is -T-L^(B)-X;each occurrence of X is independently a ligand and wherein at least oneligand consists of aminoethyltrimannose (AETM); each occurrence of L^(B)is independently a covalent bond or a group derived from the covalentconjugation of a T with an X; -D is -T-L^(D)-W; W is the insulinmolecule; L^(D) is independently a covalent bond or a group derived fromthe covalent conjugation of a T with a W; k is an integer from 1 to 12,inclusive; j is an integer from 1 to 4, inclusive; each occurrence of pis independently an integer from 1 to 5, inclusive; and each occurrenceof n is independently an integer from 0 to 5, inclusive; and eachoccurrence of m is independently an integer from 1 to 5, inclusive; andeach occurrence of v is independently an integer from 0 to 5, inclusive,with the proviso that within each k-branch at least one occurrence of nis ≧1 and at least one occurrence of v is ≧1.
 7. The conjugate of claim6, wherein the conjugate is of the formula (VIa):


8. The conjugate of claim 7, wherein the conjugate is of the formula(VIa-1), (VIa-2), or (VIa-3):


9. The conjugate of claim 6, wherein the conjugate is of the formula(VIb):


10. The conjugate of claim 9, wherein the conjugate is of the formula(VIb-1), (VIb-2), (VIb-3), (VIb-4), (VIb-5), (VIb-6), or (VIb-7):


11. The conjugate of claim 6, wherein the conjugate is of the formula(VIc) or (VIc-2):


12. The conjugate of claim 11, wherein the conjugate is of the formula(VIc-1) or (VIc-2):


13. A sustained release formulation comprising the conjugate of claim 1.14. The formulation of claim 13, wherein the formulation comprisesprotamine and zinc.
 15. A pump delivery system comprising a conjugate ofclaim 1, wherein the pump delivery system operates by infusing theconjugate into a mammal.
 16. A method of treating hyperglycemiacomprising administering formulation of claim 13 to a mammalian patientin need thereof.
 17. A method comprising administering conjugate ofclaim 1 for the treatment of diabetes.
 18. The conjugate of claim 1,wherein the insulin molecule is conjugated to the one or more ligands bya non-polymeric framework.